A “mommy makeover” has gone horribly wrong for a Washington woman, who had traveled to Mexico for cosmetic surgery.
The woman, Shannyn Palmer, told ABC News that she had crossed the border to Tijuana, Mexico, last year to get cosmetic procedures. During the procedure, the Washington State resident reportedly got her hands burned.
Palmer paid $12,500 for surgery, which included a tummy tuck and breast lift, according to the New York Post. These two procedures are popular among women postpartum.
On waking up after surgery, Palmer immediately realized something was different in her hands.
“I’m waking up in agonizing pain,” Palmer said. “And it wasn’t from the surgery I just had on my body — it was on my hands. And I just remember one of the first things I said was my hands hurt. My fingers were cold, numb, and I started to worry about the circulation.”
Later, she learned from the doctor that she had burned her hands when heated saline bags were put on her hands when she was under the influence of anesthetic.
“When I got home, they told me the news, saying that you’re likely going to have an amputation on your dominant thumb,” Palmer recalled.
“I’m permanently disfigured for the rest of my life, and that’s something I did not expect to prepare for,” Palmer told ABC News.
Many Americans travel to other countries as part of medical tourism to save their money on the procedures. However, these procedures come with risks, experts warn.
“Here in the United States, individuals are credentialed to perform certain types of procedures that’s usually based on their training. It’s based on their board certification and it’s based on whether their facility is deemed safe for general anesthesia. That may not be the case abroad,” said Dr. Oren Tepper, director of aesthetic surgery at Montefiore Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
In another grim incident, a family of four Americans was kidnapped after they traveled to Mexico. Of the four, two were killed, while the other two were transported back to the U.S. for medical treatment, Business Insider reported. It later came to light that the family had traveled to Mexico for one of the members to get a tummy tuck.