A 24-year-old French student tragically took his own life following a botched beard transplant in Turkey, after the procedure was performed by an individual posing as a surgeon. Mathieu Vigier Latour traveled to Istanbul for the €1,300 (£1,082) operation, significantly cheaper than the cost in France.
Mathieu’s father, Jacques Vigier Latour, said his son initially felt confident after confirming the clinic had approval from the Turkish health ministry. However, the procedure quickly turned disastrous.
During the transplant, 4,000 hair grafts were extracted from the back of Mathieu’s head and implanted onto his face, but 1,000 grafts were lost. “When it started to grow out, it looked like a hedgehog. It was unmanageable,” Jacques told BFM TV, via The Telegraph. The beard grew irregularly, with hairs at unnatural angles, and Mathieu also suffered burns and severe discomfort, which affected his sleep.
Further research revealed a shocking truth: the person performing the procedure was not a licensed surgeon, but an estate agent.
Mathieu’s family later sought corrective treatment from a specialist in Belgium. Unfortunately, the doctor determined that the donor area of Mathieu’s scalp would not recover. The student reportedly fell into post-traumatic shock and developed severe body dysmorphic disorder, obsessively fixating on his perceived facial flaws.
Three months after the initial transplant, Mathieu died by suicide in his Paris student accommodation. His father hopes that sharing his son’s story will raise awareness about the dangers of low-cost medical tourism. “If this testimony could prevent this from happening again and alert everyone, I think that would be a tribute to Mathieu,” Jacques said.
The tragedy comes amid other reports of disastrous cosmetic procedures. Mark Sweeney, 57, claimed that a hair transplant at the Merchant City Medical Centre in Glasgow left him with a large scar across his forehead, forcing him to quit his job as a waiter due to anxiety over his appearance. Sweeney, who paid £3,500 for the procedure, said he continues to struggle with depression and relies on medication to manage his condition.
These cases underscore the potentially devastating consequences of unregulated cosmetic surgeries and highlight the need for caution when seeking low-cost procedures abroad.
