A Woman Almost Lost Her Leg After a Turkish Tattoo Parlor (6 photos)

Last month, UK resident Kirsty Griffiths was on holiday in Turkey and decided to get another tattoo. The mother of five paid £130 for a floral design on her right ankle, but 48 hours after the procedure she felt ill.





The woman developed phlegmon - a purulent inflammation of the subcutaneous fat. The infection spread to the stomach and gallbladder.

This disease requires urgent antibiotics, and if left untreated, leads to sepsis and death.



Doctors were struggling to keep the infection under control and warned the patient that if things didn't improve, she would have to have her leg amputated.

"I was crying and screaming in pain every night. I was on morphine drips, but even with the painkillers, I was still in pain," Kirsty said.





"Luckily the antibiotics started to work," she says. "Now my tattoo is covered in black scabs, itches a lot and still hurts."

The mother of many children walks with a limp and has to take paracetamol every four hours to numb the pain.



She believes the infection was caused by the tattoo artist inserting the needle too deep.

"I already had a rose on my ankle, but I didn't like it. The artist made the flower better and bigger. When he started to tattoo me, I felt dizzy and I felt like I was going to pass out. I told him I didn't feel well. My vision went black and I threw up. He [the tattoo artist] said it was because of my blood sugar. I've never felt anything like this in my life. At first, the pain was moderate, but then it started to get worse. I kept asking him to take a break because I couldn't stand it. I didn't realize he was inserting the needle too deep."



After the session, the woman took her children to a Halloween party and thought nothing of what had happened, but the next morning she discovered that her leg was swollen. Blisters with fluid had appeared on her skin.

Griffiths barely survived the flight home: "It was the worst four hours of my life."

Shortly after landing in the UK, she was rushed to hospital.



"I made a big mistake. Usually, when I'm in Turkey, I go to familiar artists, and everything always goes well. I didn't even check about this person. I would advise anyone who wants to get a tattoo abroad to thoroughly research the issue and make sure the artist is qualified," the British woman warns.

When journalists contacted the tattoo parlor, the administrator said that Griffiths put on socks after the appointment, which caused the infection.

"We have a camera in the parlor, and all the tools are clean and sterile. During the session, I asked her many times if everything was okay," the artist added.