lipo and tummy tuck at 14

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'I had lipo, a tummy tuck & gastric band by 14'

Thursday 28 August 2008

Brooke bates became the youngest person in the world to have liposuction, aged 12. The procedure, two years ago, combined with a strict diet and exercise regime saw her weight drop from 16st to 10st in just three months.
But, unable to resist crisps and biscuits, within a year, 5ft 6 Brooke tipped the scales again at over 12st.

Terrified her daughter would become obese again, mum Cindy paid £3,500 for Brooke to have a gastric band fitted – even though she was only 13.

Thanks to the surgery in August 2007, Brooke, now 14, has lost 2st and is well on her way to her target weight of 8st. And Cindy is delighted for her youngest daughter – despite being criticised for encouraging her to go under the knife at such a young age.

“If people could see how much Brooke’s life has changed, they’d understand why I let her have the surgery. I regret not signing her up for a gastric band when she was nine. Other parents should do the same,” she tells Closer.

Stay-at-home mum Cindy, 41, first noticed Brooke had a weight problem when she was a toddler, saying: “She piled on weight quicker than my other kids, even though she didn’t seem to eat any more. In hindsight, I think she must have been eating in secret – she was 2st overweight by age eight.”

Brooke spent the next four years on diets, but after losing a few pounds, she’d always put the weight back on. “We went to so many doctors, but there was nothing medically wrong with her. They just advised restricting her food intake,” says Cindy.

Her parents feel they tried everything, including banning junk food. For a year, Cindy even went into school and sat next to Brooke during her lunch breaks to make sure she stuck to her diet.

But even this didn’t make a difference. Cindy concedes Brooke must have been getting extra food from somewhere, saying: “I think she got it from other children.”

Shockingly, by the age of 12, Brooke was a size 22, weighed 16st, and could barely walk. Doctors classed her as morbidly obese, and feared she’d develop diabetes. She was often left in tears after being bullied.

Brooke, from Austin, Texas, USA, recalls: “When I was 11, a girl asked me if I was pregnant. I just wanted to die.”
After seeing a TV documentary on weight loss in September 2005, Brooke begged Cindy and her dad Joey, 53, a landscaping firm boss, to let her have liposuction, in which a metal tube and pump is used to remove fat from the body.

Joey contacted Dr Robert Ersek, a renowned US plastic surgeon who, after meeting Brooke, agreed to help.
In March 2006, Brooke had 21⁄2st of fat sucked out from her back, thighs, stomach, arms and neck and became the youngest person ever to have lipo.

Brooke says of the £12,500 op, which her parents paid for with savings: “It was sore for the first two weeks. I had to wear a tight support device to help me get better quicker, but as soon as it came off I could see I’d shrunk all over.
I missed three weeks of school, but I lost 2st 7lbs of fat and the bullying stopped.”

But the liposuction did have one drawback – Brooke was left with sagging skin. Dr Ersek agreed to perform a tummy tuck and remove the excess skin from under her arms a few months later. In all, 10lbs of loose skin was removed.

“We weren’t worried about the ops,” says Cindy. “Our surgeon’s great.” By following a strict diet and working out on a trampoline, Brooke dropped to 10st within three months and swapped her size 22 dresses for size 14 swimwear.
Brooke says: “I’d never worn a bikini before, but after the lipo that’s all I went shopping for. I threw out all my old baggy tops. I had a huge scar on my tummy from the surgery, but I was proud of it – it reminded me of all I’d been through.”

When the op made world headlines, Cindy and Joe were accused of child abuse. However, Cindy defends the surgery, saying: “People said she was too young, but Brooke was morbidly obese. I feared she’d die.”

Cindy, who has a son Adam, 20, and daughter Bailey, 17, who are both healthy weights, says Brooke became far more outgoing after the ops. “She was a different person. So full of energy,” says Cindy.

But by the time Brooke turned 13, her weight had crept back up to 12st 2lbs. “I could see it was impossible for her to stick to her diet,” says Cindy. “She was still exercising, but she couldn’t resist crisps, ice cream and biscuits and told me she did eat in secret. I was scared she’d end up obese all over again.”

Brooke was disappointed too. “I felt hungry all the time. I was so unhappy again and felt I’d let my family down,” she says. Then, at the start of last year, Cindy’s friend had a gastric band fitted and she thought that might work for Brooke. Cindy says: “Our doctors wouldn’t do it as she wasn’t morbidly obese. But in Mexico they do it as a preventative measure and it was half the price at £3,500.”

Naively, Cindy says she didn’t have any concerns about the 45-minute procedure – going against doctors’ advice. The risks include blood clotting, infection, and damage to vital organs.

The procedure involves placing an adjustable band around the upper part of the stomach to reduce its capacity. It fills up faster, so you feel full quicker. Brooke loved the idea from the start, saying: “I was excited because I knew it would help me lose weight.”

In August 2007, Cindy went to Mexico with her daughter for the operation. Within 24 hours of having the procedure, Brooke was able to walk around.

Now, a year on, Brooke has lost 2st, but hopes to lose another 2st. She weighs 10st and eats a healthy diet that includes grilled chicken, fish and plenty of vegetables.

Cindy says: “ Now, I don’t have to worry Brooke will be dead by 25. I wish I’d known about gastric bands when she was younger.”

And Brooke couldn’t be happier. Looking to the future, she says: “Even if I don’t lose any more weight, I won’t put on any because I physically can’t eat more than a few mouthfuls and I don’t crave snacks. When I reach my target weight of 8st and have a boob job, I hope to make it as a model or actress.”

Written by Paul Thompson