Mathieu Vigier Latour, 24, reportedly suffered from ‘post-traumatic shock’ after the operation
A young French student tragically ended his life after a beard transplant went badly during a trip to Turkey, according to his father.
Mathieu Vigier Latour was only 24 years old when he went to a specialized clinic in Istanbul in March. The cost of the beard transplant was much cheaper than it would have been in France.
While studying at a business school, Mathieu decided to go through with the €1,300 (£1,082) procedure after being assured by the clinic that it was approved by the Turkish health ministry, as his father, Jacques Vigier Latour, shared with the French media.
However, the procedure did not go as planned. Instead of successfully moving 4,000 grafts from the back of Mathieu’s head to his face, things went horribly wrong.
Mathieu Vigier Latour went to Istanbul with the intention of getting a beard transplant (Family Handout)
A report from the Telegraph stated that the doctor lost 1,000 grafts during the procedure. Jacques told local broadcaster BFM TV, “When it started to grow out, it looked like a hedgehog; it was impossible to manage.”
He mentioned that the patient was in a lot of pain, dealing with burns, and had trouble sleeping. The beard looked unnatural and poorly shaped, with hairs growing at weird angles from his face.
The student’s father said that his son researched the surgery and found out that the person who performed it wasn’t even a real surgeon, but an estate agent.
Fortunately, the family discovered a specialist in Belgium who began to fix the mistakes from the failed surgery. However, the specialist sadly concluded that the area of his scalp where the grafts were taken could never fully heal.
Mathieu took this news very hard and reportedly fell into a deep state of shock, leading to serious body image issues.
Mathieu suffered from body dysmorphia after being told that some of the operation was irreversible (Family Handout)
His dad said that his son was stuck in a bad situation and felt like he couldn’t escape, mentioning that he had gotten into a tough cycle.
Unfortunately, just three months after the first operation in Turkey, Mathieu took his own life at his student accommodation in Paris.
Jacques wants to share his son’s story and what happened to him so that more people understand the risks of low-cost medical tourism.
Jacques said, “If this testimony can stop this from happening again and make everyone aware, I believe it would honor Mathieu.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.Featured Image Credit: Family Handout