Parents awarded £858,000 after daughter’s fatal weight-loss surgery

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Parents, Toyin and Oyebanji Ashamu, have been awarded £858,000 in compensation after their 26‑year‑old daughter, Khelisyah Ashamu, died days following a weight‑loss surgery in Turkey.

According to a report by The Independent on Friday, Khelisyah, an IT worker from Romford, United Kingdom, and mother of one, travelled to Izmir in February 2019 for a gastric bypass procedure. She had reportedly struggled with her weight and concerns over her post‑Caesarean stomach.

She booked the surgery through a British‑run medical tourism firm, Get Slim in Turkey, paying around £3,300 for the operation and accommodation.

Eight days after the initial procedure, Khelisyah’s condition deteriorated. She underwent exploratory follow‑up surgery, suffered a cardiac arrest, and later died in a Turkish hospital on February 9, 2019.

The Independent reports that a coroner recorded the cause of death as gastrointestinal ischaemia, a lack of blood flow to the intestines caused by surgical complications.

Her parents sued Get Slim operator Tracey Ozdemir, claiming liability for their daughter’s death. Ozdemir denied responsibility, but the judge ruled in the family’s favour.The court heard expert evidence that there was “inadequate post‑operative monitoring and airway care” after the second operation. Punch