A London woman who splashed thousands on weight loss surgery was left fighting for her life after suffering a rare complication that left a gastric balloon stuck in her bowel.
Alaina Shaw, 33, who weighs 21 stone, paid £4,500 for the procedure — which involves swallowing a capsule that inflates in the stomach, reducing appetite.
If all goes to plan, the balloon naturally passes through the body without the need for a removal procedure.
But the former accountant says it felt like she was going to die after the balloon ended up stuck inside her after it moved from her stomach to her intestine.
Ms Shaw, from Uxbridge, West London, said: ‘I didn’t lose any weight and thought I was going to die. I want to warn people about the dangers of getting this done.’
Ms Shaw underwent the surgery in November last year at a local private hospital after doctors told her she could lose up to 20 per cent of her body weight within four months.
‘It was supposed to be a temporary thing - you swallow this pill, they fill it with saline solution, and they check on an X-ray if it’s there,’ she said.
The pain began straight after the balloon was inserted.
‘I was in a lot of pain - it felt like a foreign body, but I was assured that I would start feeling better.'
However as weeks went by, Ms Shaw found that she was losing no weight, and her appetite was exactly the same.
She decided to contact the practice, but claims they were ‘palming her off.’
‘They didn’t seem like they were trying to help me. I said it was becoming a joke - I wasn’t losing any weight - I hadn’t even lost a stone.’
Ms Shaw demanded an appointment with the clinic but claims she was told she would be ill advised to give a “young healthy woman” an X-ray.
Within a few days she was rushed to hospital while ‘literally wailing in pain’.
At the hospital, doctors performed keyhole surgery and found the balloon had not dissolved and was instead lodged in her intestines.
‘I ended up in hospital questioning if I was going to survive. I was in ICU for two days - I was scared I was going to die.’
After a two week stint in ICU she was discharged from hospital but was left in limbo as she had only just quit her job as an account manager to start her own dog walking business.
‘It was the worst possible timing as I was unable to work for eight weeks - it really hit me financially,’ she said.
Ms Shaw is now trying to get full reimbursement from the clinic. ‘They were going to offer me £1,000 back - I didn’t lose any weight and could have died!’
According to the NHS, in general, the surgery is a very safe procedure, though, as a relatively new operation, the long-term effects are as yet unknown.
A spokesperson for the makers of the balloon said: ‘safety and effectiveness’ of the balloon was ‘well-established’ and said: ‘We are committed to working with clinics to ensure that any issues are thoroughly investigated and resolved in line with our commitment to patient safety.’
