A woman who was left fighting for her life after a botched facelift has warned other people not to go under the knife.
Sheila Simmons, 59, whose partner is 17 years her junior, decided to have the operation to look younger.
But now, after her seventh reconstructive operation to repair the damage caused, she wants to warn other women not to go under the knife.
She said: ‘What happened to me was truly terrifying. I have regretted having the facelift every day since the operation.
‘I could have died and not only did it ruin my looks, it left me living a constant nightmare of more surgery to correct the damage.
‘I wish I had never ever gone ahead and want to warn others that it is not worth the risk.’
The grandmother from Manchester first started thinking about surgery as she approached her fifties.
She said: ‘I’d read a lot about it and it seemed an easy way of rolling back the years and ironing out the worry lines.
‘My partner Steve didn’t want me to have it done but I was conscious that he was younger than me and I wanted to look good.’
Ms Simmons had her first consultation with a plastic surgeon in April 2007 and just one month later was admitted to a local clinic for a full facelift, eye lift and chemical wrinkle peel.
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The procedure cost her £10,000 and she was in surgery for five hours.
‘It seemed very professional and I had total confidence in them,’ she said.
‘I expected it to hurt when I came round but when I opened my eyes it felt like my skin was so tight it was going to split. I was struggling to breathe and gasping for air. I knew instantly something was seriously wrong.’
The grandmother (pictured left before the surgery) decided to have a facelift so that she looked younger for her partner Steve Buckley (right) who is 17 years her junior
She was prescribed antibiotics and told not to worry despite her face continuing to swell.
‘I was assured it was normal but my head was twice its usual size. I was terrified,’ she said.
Ms Simmons was discharged from hospital three days later but started to suffer from crippling stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea.
She said: ‘I couldn’t sleep, I looked and felt horrific and my partner and I were utterly distraught.’
Mr Buckley, 42, turned to the internet and discovered the type of staples used for her facelift contained enough nickel to trigger an allergic reaction.
Ms Simmons said: ‘I was devastated because I had told them I was allergic to nickel and they had assured me it wouldn’t be a problem.’
Finally, after seven days the swelling began to recede but Ms Simmons noticed her face starting to smell.
When she woke up from the surgery her skin was so tight that she was struggling to breathe
‘At first I thought I’d caught a whiff of the drains. Then I realised the smell was following me around and getting worse. I broke down when I realised it was me,’ she said.
After examining her surgeons discovered a large abscess eating away at her cheek and discovered that the skin around her ear was starting to die.
Tests eventually revealed she had a potentially fatal infection.
She was admitted to hospital and put on a strong antibiotic drip to fight the infection.
Ms Simmons said: ‘I was in bits. I felt like I was being eaten alive. I was practically rotting away. I’d never been so scared in my life.’
Doctors managed to get the infection under control but one side of her face now had a sunken appearance where the inside of her cheek had rotted away, making her eyes look uneven.
The infection also left severe scarring which destroyed her ear lobes.
Ms Simmons developed a life-threatening infection after the surgery and had an allergic reaction to the surgical staples used during the operation
She had to be admitted to hospital to be given intravenous antibiotics and it was also discovered that she had developed an abscess in her cheek which was causing her face to smell
Ms Simmons turned down an offer from her surgeon to perform reconstructive work.
‘There was no way I was going to let him anywhere near me again. I looked like I’d been the victim of a dog attack,’ she said.
As the days passed the grandmother sank into depression.
She said: ‘I just hit a wall. I was so angry at the way I had been treated and angry with myself for having the surgery.
‘I refused to leave the house and kept apologising to Steve and my family for causing them so much upset and worry.’
Eventually she turned to her GP for support.
Ms Simmons has now undergone seven reconstructive operations to repair the damage
As a result, the following February she began the long process of reconstructive work on the NHS.
‘The thought of going back into theatre was frightening but what choice did I have if I ever wanted to look normal?’ she said.
In January 2011 Sheila accepted an out of court settlement of £10,000 compensation.
She said: ‘No amount of money would ever give me back my confidence and my looks.’
She added: ‘I’m grateful that the reconstructive surgery is making a difference, but I still need more.
‘My surgeon’s explained I’ll need fat grafted from other parts of my face to try and rebuild my collapsed cheeks.
‘It’s a long process and I don’t know how I’ll feel at the end of it. I still don’t like leaving the house and will wear a scarf or turn my face away when I speak to people, especially strangers.
‘It’s ironic really. I did all this to feel better about myself and look different. Now I’d give anything to go back to looking like the old me.’
She added: ‘I thought a facelift was the answer but it was only the start of my problems.
‘So if you’re thinking of having surgery, I beg you to reconsider. Take a good look at what happened to me - what’s a few lines and wrinkles compared to this?’