Janet Fletcher, with two of her children, Maddy and Joseph. She has been told she cannot leave Dubai until she has paid her medical bills.

A mother with young children is stranded in Dubai after her passport was confiscated when surgical complications left her with medical bills she cannot afford to pay.

Christchurch woman Janet Fletcher, 47, travelled to Dubai last month to have a gastric sleeve operation at the Canadian Specialist Hospital. It was expected to cost about $16,500.

But she had to be admitted to intensive care when a small tear in her stomach left her with septic shock and acute kidney failure.

123RF President of the NZ Association of Plastic Surgeons Sally Langley said travelling overseas for an operation was dangerous.

She spent an extra two weeks in hospital, which caused her bill to grow to $36,348 – an amount her family cannot afford to pay. She was not covered under either medical or travel insurance.

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​She was discharged from hospital on Thursday, but the United Arab Emirates government confiscated her passport, saying she could not leave while she had unpaid medical expenses.

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Fletcher said she was aware of the UAE's stance on medical bills before she went under the knife, but decided to take the risk.

"I can't point the finger at anyone, it is just one of those things.

"I miss my husband and my children. I don't know when I am going to be able to go home."

​She chose to have the surgery in Dubai because a family member living there had the same operation in the same hospital five years earlier. She is currently recovering at the family member's home.

Husband Graeme Fletcher said he was trying to raise enough money to get his wife back.

"It is vital I get her home, it is the most important thing I need to do right now," he said

The couple, who have five children together, have not told the two youngest that their mother is stranded.

The family have been based in Tonga for the past two years, and are in the process of shifting back to Christchurch.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had not been contacted by Fletcher's family, but was restricted in what help it could give in the circumstances.

"As is the case with all illness overseas affecting New Zealanders, Mfat cannot act as guardians, provide a guarantee of payment, or fund the repatriation of New Zealanders who fall ill while travelling.

"New Zealanders travelling abroad should take out comprehensive travel insurance for this purpose."

However, Insurance Council chief executive Tim Grafton said travel insurance did not typically cover people who were travelling overseas for a medical procedure.

NZ Association of Plastic Surgeons president Sally Langley said travelling overseas for an operation was dangerous.

"All people having surgery are far better to have it in New Zealand, in a system they know. Especially when there is a small risk of things going wrong ..."

WHAT IS A GASTRIC SLEEVE?

* Also known as bariatric surgery, its purpose is to limit a person's food intake, usually by surgically removing a large portion of the stomach.

* In 2015, a total of 417 people received publicly funded bariatric surgery in New Zealand.

* The 2015-16 national price for a publicly funded bariatric procedure was $19,800, excluding GST.

* Before being considered for surgical treatment in New Zealand, a patient must have been obese for at least five years.