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A young man’s life was tragically cut short after a botched beard transplant in Turkey was performed by an estate agent masquerading as a surgeon.

Mathieu Vigier Latour travelled to Istanbul in March last year for what he thought was a legitimate €1,300 (£1,130) procedure. His dad, Jacques, says his son was reassured when he saw the clinic’s official stamp of approval from the Turkish health ministry.

If he'd had the same procedure at home in France, the student would have paid up to five times as much. However, the cheap and quick fix turned into nothing short of a nightmare for the 24-year-old.

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During the operation, 4,000 grafts were removed from Mathieu’s scalp and then transplanted to his face. But somehow the surgeon lost a staggering 1,000 grafts.

The result was a hedgehog-like patch of hair that was “unmanageable,” his dad later said. The beard looked uneven, poorly mapped out and with hairs growing at bizarre angles.

Worse still was that Mathieu suffered burns and couldn’t sleep due to the pain. Feeling suspicious, he looked into the apparent surgeon and shockingly discovered he was in reality an estate agent.

Devastated, his family scrambled to find a specialist in Belgium to fix the damage. But it was too late and the expert confirmed that parts of Mathieu’s scalp - where grafts had been taken - would never recover.

Tragically, the mental toll was too much for him and he suffered from post-traumatic shock and severe body dysmorphic disorder. This left Mathieu’s obsessed with what he saw as flaws in his appearance.

“He entered a vicious circle and couldn’t get out,” his dad said. Sadly, just three months after the bungled operation, Mathieu took his own life in his Paris student flat.

Last year, his dad spoke out in the hope of exposing the deadly risks of cheap medical tourism. “If sharing our story can prevent this from happening again, it would be a fitting tribute to Mathieu,” he said.

Elsewhere, in separate tragic case concerning hair transplants in Turkey, a 36-year-old Brit called Mentor Rama flew to Istanbul for a hair and teeth procedure last on November 11 last year. However, after having the procedure he started to feel unwell once he arrived back at his hotel room.

Emergency services were alerted shortly afterward and Mentor was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson told The Mirror at the time: "We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Turkey and are in contact with the local authorities."

A post shared on a family member's public Facebook page said "my heart is heavier than ever". The message, translated from Albanian to English, said: "Your departure has left a void that nothing in this world can fill I never thought I would have to write such words for you. You were our light the smile that warmed us the strength that lifted us up every time we fell."

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit their website at www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch.