When Vicky Quait, 53, flew to Turkey, it was the start of a devastating journey
WORDS: ALLY EINSTEIN, FIONA FORD
Gazing out of the window as the aircraft roared down the runway, I should have been feeling excited and like a whole new woman. Instead, I was desperately trying to ignore a dizzy feeling. It was May 2023 and I was on my way home from Turkey and as the aircraft soared into the sky I felt increasingly sick. I tried taking deep breaths but it felt as if the world was falling around me. Suddenly everything went black and the next thing I knew I was on the ground at Luton Airport being checked over by an ambulance crew.
I had no recollection of collapsing mid-air, everything was a blur. But all I wanted to do in that moment was turn the clock back to a time when I’d never flown to Istanbul for a cut-price boob job.
Booking a breast uplift wasn’t a decision I’d taken lightly, but as an avid gym-goer and amateur bodybuilder, I’ve always taken care of my body and had pride in my appearance.
However, during lockdown, like a lot of people I put on weight and gained 2st. I was determined to lose it again and when gyms opened up I went back to my old regime. But although the weight fell off, my body changed. My boobs became droopy and I went from a size 36D to a 36EE as they’d got bigger with the extra weight.
TV shows seemed to be full of young, beautiful women and I was envious of their perfect bodies, so I began looking into boob jobs. I researched lots of clinics in the UK but costs were around £8,000 and that didn’t include follow-up care.
‘It’s too expensive,’ I told my mum Angela, then 78. I worked as a nail technician and couldn’t afford it. But during my research I also came across several Turkish clinics that promised the same standard, but for half the price. Many of them even had positive celebrity reviews so I thought ‘why not?’
DOING THE RESEARCH
Before going ahead, I had an online consultation with a surgeon who agreed to give me 300 cubic centimetre implants, which would give my breasts a little lift and make them perkier.
Immediately I was impressed at his expertise and with a waiting list of three years, I thought he must be good.
I booked myself in for the surgery which would take me back to a 36D and would also cost £5,000. Only Mum expressed concern.
‘I’ve read a lot of bad press about Turkish clinics,’ she worried. I did my best to rea
