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A care home manager has been awarded more than £20,000 after a botched tummy tuck led to her belly button exploding during a flight.

Patricia Jackson, 68, of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, had received surgery to remove excess skin after a tough weight loss routine.

But years later her stomach burst during a terrifying midair ordeal on a flight to Portugal.

She underwent an abdominoplasty by plastic surgeon Edgardo Schiavone, who worked for the Hospital Group in Birmingham in 2005.

Extra skin and fat was removed and the muscles were tightened in the abdominal wall, said a spokeswoman for Fletchers Solicitors.

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 after she successfully sued the doctor.

"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."