News, Thursday, January 27, 2011 3 www.thisiskent.co.uk CAK-EO1-S2 In brief Report by Max Evans [email protected] A MOTHER-OF-TWO who shaped-up using a gastric bypass and a tummy tuck, has opened a company selling cut price plastic-surgery holidays. Angela Chouaib, 34, of Green Lane, Grain, lost more than half of her 19 stone weight after a gastric bypass in 2009. But she struggled to find an affordable surgeon to tighten the half-stone of loose skin left hanging from her body. Then in November 2009 she took a trip to Poland. Mrs Chouaib discovered a five star clinic in Wroclaw, south west Poland, which offered a range of cosmetic treatments up to 75 per cent cheaper than those offered in UK. Secret Now her company, Secret Surgery, sells packaged breaks for people who want a boob job or liposuction built into their holiday. Mrs Chouaib said: “Often people don’t want other people to know they have had a little nip or tuck. “You can actually book your city break, and when you get home you can show your friends the site-seeing photos. “It can be a secret.” Her tummy tuck and skin tightening cost around £3,000, instead of around £12,000 – the average cost of the procedures when they are carried out the UK. She also decided to have a breast uplift at the clinic at fraction of the UK cost. Mrs Chouaib, who quit her job in occupation health and safety to start the company, said people should not raise their eyebrows at a face lift, or sniff at a nose job. She said: “I think you have to walk in someone else’s shoes to appreciate what it is they are going through and how it is affecting their lives. “It affects peoples’ confid- ence, their mentality, their fam- ily life and their professional life.” In 2007 there was a rise in the number of patients treated on the NHS for complications arising from botched surgery abroad, as recorded in research by the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic surgeons. But Mrs Chouaib, who lives with her two children and her husband Pedro, 39, said people should not be frightened off by horror stories of “back street butchers” abroad. The resident surgeon at her clinic is in the process of regis- tering with the British general medical council. Secret Surgery trips are arranged so that holiday makers have their operation and recovery-time in the first four days. They are then free to spend the rest of their trip enjoying the delights of Wroclaw, which is described as the Venice of Poland, with its historic build- ings, its beautiful river and gothic architecture. A personal assistant helps them each step of the way, even guiding them around the city. With non-vital surgery cut from the list of services offered by the NHS, Brits could be look- ing abroad for cosmetic pro- cedures in the future. Around 60,000 people trav- elled to Poland for cosmetic sur- gery last year. ' For more information about Secret Surgery visit www.secretsurgery.co.uk Super dieter launches secret surgery holidays News Mum offers discreet plastic-surgery package breaks after she struggled to find a clinic for tummy tuck Uplifted: Angela’s husband, Pedro, can sweep her off her feet after she lost 10-stone with a gastric band GIPM20110124A-023_C Before: Angela Chouaib needed her skin tightened after losing weight Brave schoolboy to identify savage dog THE SCHOOLBOY who was savaged by an unleased Staffordshire bull terrier type dog will have to come face to face with the suspect animal in a bid to identify it. Liam Monks,13, was playing foot- ball with his mates at the Garrison Ground in Gillingham when the dog ripped into his leg gouging a hole half the size of a tennis ball. The attack has left the soccer-mad Robert Napier pupil in need of coun- selling and he is still undergoing plastic surgery treatment at a spe- cialist hospital at East Grinstead. Arrested A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Gillingham just over a week after the incident on Wednesday December 29, on suspicion of failing to control a dog in a public place. He has been placed on bail and was due to return to Medway Police Station today. Liam’s mum Debbie Monk said her son, who has been told he will be scarred for life, has suffered a set- back after an infection set into the wound. He managed to return to school after the Christmas break, but then got a bout of chicken pox. Debbie, 47, a nursery school work- er, said “He is still getting flash- backs, but the counselling is helping. “He is achieving different goals everyday. We are very proud of him. “We are being told he has to identi- fy the dog. But it will be in a con- trolled environment.” Skin from Liam’s thigh was graf- ted to fill the gaping wound in an emergency two-hour operation. Amazingly, two days later the plucky lad was allowed back to the family home in Belmont Road, Gillingham. Liam’s friends, Jordan Mills and Kayleigh Williams, both aged 14, who were with him at the time, described the dog as white with black spots all over it. Savage attack: Liam Monks,13, with mum Debbie Passer-by saves house from blaze A CAR went up in flames and threatened to set a house alight in the early hours of the morning until a quick-thinking passer-by took action and called firefighters. After spotting the burning Peugeot hatchback in the driveway of a home in St Margaret’s Street, Rochester, at 4.50am on Wednesday, they woke the owners. Firefighters from Medway and Strood were called and doused the blaze, but not before the heat smashed several windows and scorched guttering. Garage fire FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze at a garage in Chatham in the early hours of yesterday morning. A crew from Medway spent an hour dealing with the fire in Gerard Avenue, Chatham. The garage, which was piled with rubbish, was destroyed. The cause is unknown. New-look store THE CO-OPERATIVE will open a new-look store in Hoo today (Thursday) after a £260,000 refit. Pupils from Hoo Primary School will cut the ribbon at the Main Road store, which has been redecorated and fitted with a new till as well as a kiosk to ease the congestion in the store.