An Oldham mum died due to complications she suffered during an operation to have a gastric sleeve fitted in Turkey, an inquest has heard.

On Thursday (April 18), an inquest was held at Rochdale Coroners' Court into the death of Leanne Leary, who lived on Barmouth Walk, Hollinwood.

The inquest heard evidence from three of Leanne's family members - her father Paul Dermody, her mother Kathleen Scott, and her sister Katie Thomas.

In court, Leanne was described as "kind-hearted" and someone who was "very generous with her time, especially those less fortunate than her".

A GoFundMe page set up after Leanne's death read: "Leanne Michelle was the most caring and compassionate person you would ever wish to meet and she left us in tragic circumstances on July 2nd 2023 when she was only 38 years old.

"Leanne had a [sic] open heart, open arms and ears and listened and supported anyone who needed to be heard. Leanne was loyal, hardworking and the most loving person you could ever wish to meet and her friends and family would echo that sentiment."

The court heard from family members that Leanne, who was raised in Failsworth and Newton Heath, had travelled to Istanbul for the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10.

On the walk to the stadium, Leanne suffered serious pain in her leg which continued when she returned home and prompted her to visit her GP.

Leanne's friend, Rachel Leary, told the court that before her trip to Istanbul, she had hurt her leg after failing when going up the stairs and this is what had caused the pain in her leg.

A visit to her GP saw Leanne referred to the Medical Same Day Emergency Care Unit at Royal Oldham Hospital, where an ultrasound of her leg did not confirm she had a blood clot, or deep vain thrombosis (DVT) in her leg, but also did not rule it out.

Just weeks later, Leanne told family members she was flying to Turkey on June 30 to undergo a gastric sleeve operation, which she had originally booked in April of that year.

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Some friends raised concerns about her flying with a blood clot but Leanne assured them the blood clot was "only small" and that she would be "fine".

The court heard evidence that Leanne never told doctors in the UK about her planned operation in Turkey.

On July 1, Leanne attended the Merkez Prime Hospital in Gebze, where she underwent some pre-operation tests before the procedure began.

During the operation, staff became aware Leanne was suffering a cardiac arrest.

She was resuscitated and the operation was terminated before she was transferred to the intensive care unit.

The next day, Leanne suffered another heart attack and after staff tried to resuscitate her for 45 minutes, she was pronounced dead.

Evidence was heard from Dr Sami Titi, consultant pathologist at the Northern Care Alliance, who carried out a post-mortem examination on Leanne.

He said there was evidence that Leanne had suffered from a DVT, which led to a blood clot in her pulmonary arteries, or the arteries around the lungs.

Dr Titi said this led to Leanne suffering a pulmonary embolism, when the blood clot starts blocking the pulmonary arteries.

The court heard Leanne suffered from asthma, while Dr Titi said his examination showed she was obese and had bronchopneumonia.

In her conclusion, senior coroner Catherine McKenna said: "This is a particularly tragic case of a young mum who it seems to me was exceptionally well-loved."

Leanne's official cause of death was given as a pulmonary embolism due to DVT brought on by the operation, bronchopneumonia, obesity and asthma, while Ms McKenna added she died following complications from an elective surgical procedure and underlying conditions.

Ms McKenna concluded the hearing by saying Leanne's case "underlies the importance of transparency when it comes to elective procedures" and that it should serve as a reminder to anyone thinking of undergoing such procedures.

She added: "All surgeries carry risks, it is so important to discuss with your GP and make sure hospitals are fully aware of your medical history."

Ms McKenna added that Leanne was "dearly missed by her friends and family".