A woman whose belly button "erupted" on a flight home from Portugal, years after a botched tummy tuck, has been awarded more than £20,000 compensation.
Patricia Jackson, 68, of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, underwent a tummy tuck operation to remove excess skin following weight loss. But years later her stomach "burst", her lawyers said.
She underwent an abdominoplasty with the Hospital Group at its Birmingham Dolan Park clinic in 2005, where surgeons removed extra skin and fat, as well as tightened the muscles in the abdominal wall, said a spokeswoman for Fletchers Solicitors.
Care home manager Patricia Jackson who has been awarded more than #20,000 compensation after a botched surgery
Following the operation, surgeons told Mrs Jackson that they had not "created" a new belly button for her because there was not enough skin left over after the operation.
But it later emerged that they had left part of the old one inside her, the spokeswoman said.
In 2011, on a return flight from a holiday in Portugal, Mrs Jackson noticed that there were blisters around where her old belly button had been and the area "unexpectedly burst", the spokeswoman for the law firm added.
Following the flight, medics discovered her old belly button had been left inside her and she once again had to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Earlier this year she was awarded £22,500 compensation.
"The result of my case means that awareness has been raised and it can hopefully change patient care in the future," Mrs Jackson said.
Jeanette Aspinall, head of medical negligence at Fletchers Solicitors, said: "This case highlights how easy it is for an everyday cosmetic surgery procedure, like a tummy tuck, to go wrong, both with the surgery itself and if the proper after-care is not administered.
"Mrs Jackson had the operation to gain confidence, and instead was subjected to years of pain and embarrassment."