Botched 'Turkey teeth' op victim warns of dangers

A woman who needs reconstructive surgery after dental work in Turkey failed says she is being kept going by a need to warn others of the dangers.

Leanne Abeyance, 41, from Telford - who underwent a so-called "Turkey teeth" operation - was left unable to breathe through her nose, which then collapsed days before she underwent an implant removal operation.

She remains in constant pain, which she controls with sleeping tablets and morphine every day, and feels too self-conscious to go outside.

"It doesn't get any easier, but I'm glad that it's touched so many people," Abeyance said. "I just want to chop my head off and start again."

She had started using a prosthetic nose but had to stop after suffering an allergic reaction.

In the week before the implant-removal operation at Guy's Hospital in London, she said her septum "came apart" and would not stop bleeding.

"I got my mum round, I got everyone round. I actually said goodbye to my little girls, because I thought I was going to die, I thought I was going to get sepsis and die," Abeyance said.

The failed dental work has also led her to develop auto-immune conditions that are causing damage to her face and have made it painful to eat.

Advice from the NHS for people who are considering going abroad for dental work, external is that while it might be cheaper than the UK, the risks of the surgery need to be weighed against the savings.

Patients should consult their NHS dentist first, it says, as standards vary in different countries.

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Source: BBC News, 21 January 2026