Dad of Leah Cambridge 'took own life after daughter died in botched Brazilian butt lift', court told

The dad of a 29-year-old woman who died after a botched 'Brazilian butt lift' was found hanged after being diagnosed with depression attributable to her loss, a coroner said today (Fri).
Craig Cambridge, the father of deceased Leah Cambridge outside Wakefield Coroner's Court in Wakefield in September 2019.Craig Cambridge, the father of deceased Leah Cambridge outside Wakefield Coroner's Court in Wakefield in September 2019.
Craig Cambridge, the father of deceased Leah Cambridge outside Wakefield Coroner's Court in Wakefield in September 2019.

Craig Cambridge, 51, was found dead at his home in Leeds, on April 5, three years after his daughter Leah died when the operation went wrong in Turkey.

An inquest into Leah's death heard she died of a pulmonary embolism after a surgeon at the Can Hastanesi Hospital in Izmir accidentally injected fat into her veins.

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Leah's father Craig was diagnosed with depression attributable to her tragic loss, an inquest opening into his death heard.

Leah Cambridge, 29, from Leeds, died shortly after surgery to at a private hospital in Izmir, Turkey in August 2018Leah Cambridge, 29, from Leeds, died shortly after surgery to at a private hospital in Izmir, Turkey in August 2018
Leah Cambridge, 29, from Leeds, died shortly after surgery to at a private hospital in Izmir, Turkey in August 2018

Wakefield Coroners' Court heard he was found dead at his home at around 7.50pm on Monday, April 5 this year.

Senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin said: "I dealt with the inquest of Leah Cambridge a while ago which itself was a tragedy.

"He had been diagnosed with depression, attributable to the grief of losing his daughter Leah.

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"The tentacles of distress radiated out from the tragic death of Leah in Turkey and seem to stretch far."

Leah's widower Scott Franks paid tribute to Craig in an emotional Facebook post the day after he died.

He wrote: "Rest in peace Craig Cambridge, one top bloke. I’ll never forget all the times you was there for me.

"We all love you so much, take care of Leah now mate."

Leah flew to Can Hastanesi Hospital in Izmir in August 2018 but tragically had three heart attacks on the operating table at the clinic, made famous by reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

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The clinic also claimed to have worked with UK TV personalities such as Lauren Goodger, Amber Dowding and Chloe Ferry.

At an inquest into her death in 2019, Mr McLoughlin branded the surgeon who carried out the fatal operation a "coward" for not answering her family's questions.

Mr McLoughlin said he wrote to Dr Ali Uckan eight times to ask him to give evidence at the inquest, but he did not respond.

The controversial procedure involves extracting fat from areas of the body and re-injecting it into the buttocks to enhance its shape.

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The inquest heard Dr Uckan had admitted the operation "is a guessing game" to Ms Cambridge's widow Scott, who travelled to Turkey after hearing of her death.

Mum-of-three Leah, who flew out to Izmir with her mother, was taken into theatre just 90 minutes after arriving at the Can Hastanesi Hospital.

She made the arrangements through Elite Aftercare, a company that acts as a "middle man" between client and surgeon and also provides a luxury villa for the patient to stay in post-operation.

She had signed consent forms within minutes of her arrival, a practice the coroner blasted as "meaningless".

Mr Cambridge's inquest was adjourned until a later date, which has not yet been set.

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