Patricia Jackson underwent a tummy tuck operation five years ago

May 2, 2014 08:25 GMT  ·  By
Patricia Jackson's navel exploded on a plane while she was flying home after a trip to Portugal
   Patricia Jackson's navel exploded on a plane while she was flying home after a trip to Portugal

A Yorkshire woman whose belly button exploded on a plane after a botched tummy tuck operation has been awarded a £22,000 ($37,140 or €26,800) payout after the incident.

Patricia Jackson, from Bridlington, underwent the surgery to remove excess skin after having lost some weight. According to Metro, five years ago, the 68-year-old woman went to a private clinic, where surgeon Edgardo Schiavone performed the plastic surgery to remove the sagging tissues and make her abdomen more firm.

After the operation, she noticed her belly button had disappeared and the surgeon told her that it was removed because there was too little skin left over to make a new one. She didn't worry too much about that at the time because she trusted the doctor and thought that he knew better.

However, five years after the procedure, her belly button literally exploded on a plane, when she was flying home after a trip to Portugal. She then realized that the doctor lied to her and her belly button had actually been sewn up inside her and had been gradually falling apart.

Patricia says it was quite a painful and unpleasant experience, as her stomach burst during the flight and passengers complained about the smell. She was immediately transported to an NHS hospital after the flight landed, where doctors managed to reconstruct her navel.

Mrs. Jackson, a former care home manager, said the operation initially appeared to have been a success, but after some time she began to worry because the cicatrix was looking too good.

“I was angry because I felt I had been neglected by the hospital and the surgeon, and it wasn’t fair,” she said. “For the first year after the operation everything was fine and I went to work as normal. But I was due for a yearly check-up and the surgeon was concerned about the scarring because it looked quite bad.”

Three years after filing a legal complaint against Mr. Schiavone through Fletchers Solicitors, Patricia was given monetary compensation. However, her lawyer Jeanette Aspinall says that while her client is happy with the outcome of the case, she is now reluctant to undergo any further plastic surgery.

“Mrs Jackson had the operation to gain confidence and instead was subject to years of pain and embarrassment. She is now keen to put this incident behind her and highlight the problems of not receiving the proper aftercare,” Mrs. Aspinall said.

The surgeon settled the case out of court.