Warrington mum died in Turkey weight loss operation

Emma Morrissey died on July 8, 2022, from complications during gastric sleeve surgery.

Ms Morrissey was a beloved member of the community, and was described by her fiancé as a friend to everyone.

Speaking at the inquest, Jonathan Burt described his late fiancée as: "One of those people you only needed to know for five minutes and she would be your friend.

"Everybody loved her."

Emma and Jonathan got engaged three weeks before she died - the inquest heard that the couple had postponed any engagement due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as they did not wish to have a prolonged engagement period.

The inquest held at Cheshire Coroner's Court in Warrington heard that Ms Morrissey, who was 44 when she died, had researched options for private surgery that would help with weight loss.

During her research, the Birchwood resident came across Regenesis Health Travel, a company that arranges for clients to travel abroad to have private surgery at a cheaper rate than in the UK.

Ms Morrissey travelled abroad as she did not meet the requirements to receive gastric sleeve surgery on the NHS, and private surgery in the UK is costly, the inquest was told.

On July 7, 2022, Emma was taken to theatre at a private hospital in Turkey, for a procedure that should have taken approximately three hours, according to the evidence given by her partner, Jonathan.

He explained that the surgery took longer than expected, with doctors explaining to him that there had been complications, and eventually informing him that Emma was in critical condition.

It was at 12.45pm on July 8 that Emma was pronounced dead following complications of the surgery.

Emma's family described her as a devoted mother, with a heart of gold (Image: Supplied)

Emma's family were told by the hospital that she began to bleed internally during surgery, and that the procedure was halted in order to address the internal bleeding.

Following a number of blood loss-related cardiac arrests, the mum-of-two was pronounced dead.

The medical death certificate supplied by Turkey lists Emma's cause of death as natural causes, citing cardiac arrest as the cause of death.

At the inquest, independent pathologist Dr Mark Lord explained that no post-mortem was carried out on Emma's body in Turkey, and that there was no evidence that her body had been embalmed to the standard usually seen in the UK.

Dr Lord also highlighted that there was no evidence that surgeons had stopped the procedure when they notice Emma's internal bleeding - instead deciding to continue operating on Emma, rather than halt surgery and address the blood loss.

The inquest heard that it was Dr Lord's conclusion that surgeons completed the gastric sleeve surgery, and then attempted to address Emma's internal bleeding.

It was also heard that if surgeons had halted the surgery and stemmed the blood loss when it was first noticed, the mum-of-two would not have died.

Dr Lord also noted that although the court heard Emma did have a family history of heart disease - which was not asked about by the private hospital, or Regenesis - he found her cardiovascular system to be normal during the post-mortem.

Presiding over the inquest was senior coroner for Cheshire, Jacqueline Devonish.

In her summary, coroner Devonish told the court that based on the evidence supplied, Ms Morrissey's procedure seemed rushed, giving her fiancé no time to say goodbye to her.

She added: "There is evidence that Emma's stomach had undergone the procedure, and had been stapled.

"The treatment offered to Emma Morrissey did not contain sufficient clotting factors and platelets to stem the bleed."

Reaching her conclusion, coroner Devonish said: "Had the bleeding been stemmed at the time of discovery, Emma would have survived."

The court heard that the senior coroner disagreed with the death certificate supplied by Turkey, saying that Emma's cause of death will be listed as: "Shock and haemorrhage due to a ruptured ligament due to a gastric sleeve operation."

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian, Emma's family issued the following tribute: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Emma, who passed away on July 8, 2022, following complications from surgery.

"Emma was an amazing person who touched the lives of everyone she met. She was kind, compassionate, and always put others before herself. She had a heart of gold and was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

"Emma was a devoted mother, fiancée, sister, and friend. She loved spending time with her family and friends and always had a smile on her face.

"Her infectious laughter and positive attitude will be greatly missed.

"We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has reached out to us during this difficult time. Your support and kindness have been a great comfort to us."

The family added: "We are cooperating fully with the coroner's inquest and will provide any information required to assist with their investigation.

"We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."