Mum died from blood clot after cosmetic surgery as she wasn’t given life-saving drugs

A British mum who spent $30k on a cosmetic procedure died after not being given the life-saving drugs that could have saved her.

Louise Harvey had booked in for a “mummy makeover” — but 17 days later she was dead.

The beauty therapist, who was killed by a blood clot after a boob job and tummy tuck, was not given medication that might have saved her, a court heard.

The 36-year-old forked out $30,000 for a three-hour double operation at a private clinic run by UK cosmetic surgery company Transform, which advertises its services during reality TV show Love Island.

The mother-of-three, who had a history of blood clots in her family, died 17 days later from the complication after collapsing at her home in Norwich, Norfolk.

Louise Harvey died of a blood clot after having cosmetic surgery.

A pre-inquest hearing yesterday was told she had not been issued with anticoagulant blood-thinning drugs to prevent clots to take home after her surgery on June 17 last year.

Ms Harvey, who died on July 5, had been prescribed a single dose of an anticoagulant drug during her two-day stay in the hospital run by leading Transform.

But Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich was told there was a delay in her receiving it, and a prescription for a second dose was also not administered.

Norfolk Area coroner Yvonne Blake questioned why she had not been given the drugs to take home when her grandmother and sister had each suffered a deep vein thrombosis due to blood clots in the past.

She was not issued with anticoagulant blood-thinning drugs despite a history of blood clots in the family. Picture: Facebook

Ms Blake said she wanted to know what the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines were for prescribing anticoagulant drugs after cosmetic surgery.

She also asked for the cosmetic surgery company to describe its protocol on giving the drugs.

Ms Blake suggested it was “quite risky” for Ms Harvey not to have been prescribed them.

She added: “My concern is that these protocols may be adequate for an average patient who tends to be youngish.

She died 17 days after the surgery.

Harvey paid $30,000 for the procedure. Picture: Facebook

“But because of her family history with DVT, doesn’t that make her out of the range of the average patient? She was out for three hours having multiple procedures.”

Ms Blake suggested it might have been more appropriate for Ms Harvey to have the drugs due to her tummy tuck, which would have reduced her mobility while she recovered, making a blood clot more likely.

Chris Mellor, representing Transform, said the guidelines about prescribing anticoagulant drugs were not firm.

Her mum, Lyn Harvey, said ‘vain is the last thing she was’ and she was a ‘brilliant and hardworking mum’.

Ads for the company appear during the UK version of reality TV show Love Island.

“Whilst there are guidelines, they are not necessarily guidelines that apply to this particular type of surgery,” Mr Mellor said.

He added the clinic had a video that showed Ms Harvey being mobile as she was discharged.

But he also claimed the company had improved its protocols since Ms Harvey’s death.

The hearing was also told how the doctor operating on Ms Harvey had originally planned to use a heated diathermy medical tool during the procedure.

But he found the equipment was faulty during an earlier operation on another patient and instead resorted to liposuction treatment.

Coroner Yvonne Blake questioned why Ms Harvey had not been given drugs to take home when her grandmother and sister had each suffered a deep vein thrombosis due to blood clots in the past.

The inquest was adjourned for a full hearing, which is likely to take up to four days, on dates to be fixed.

The earlier opening of the inquest gave Ms Harvey’s cause of death as bilateral pulmonary embolism secondary to breast augmentation and abdominoplasty.

Lawyer Tim Deeming, who is acting for Ms Harvey’s family, said after today’s hearing: “We just want full and complete answers to explain how prescription errors took place and what Transform have done to ensure lessons have been learned.”

Transform, which boasts on its website that it helps “tens of thousands of women and men to feel differently about themselves” did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms Harvey’s three children aged 19, 11, and six are now being looked after by her mother Lyn Harvey.

Lyn, 52, described her daughter last November as “a hardworking, brilliant mum”.

“Vain is the last thing she was. She didn’t even believe she was good looking. She didn’t have one mirror in her house,” Lyn said.

Ms Harvey’s friend Mark Hutson, who set up a JustGiving page to raise money for her children, said: “It’s been a shock to us all that this beautiful, young devoted mother-of-three has been taken away from us so early and without warning when she had so much to live for.”