A woman won £15,000 compensation over a botched facelift after her cheeks bulged up and she was left looking 'like a chipmunk'
Denise Maitland said the nurse who removed the bandages after the operation ran out of the room screaming 'Oh my God' when she saw what surgeons had done.
The 65-year-old was encouraged to go under the knife by television shows like 10 Years Younger and Cosmetic Surgery Live.
Regret: Mrs Maitland thought the surgery was risk-free but she suffered bleeding and complications. She wears heavy make-up to hide the scars
But after suffering heavy bleeding and complications, she has been left having to wear heavy make-up to hide her scars.
Retired office administrator Denise said: 'I was seduced by TV programmes, I was fascinated seeing women being transformed by surgery.
'I used to watch three a week and eventually I sent off for a brochure.
'I had all these rings of skin around my neck but I wanted to look lovely and young again.'
Her husband Gareth, a retired archaeologist, was 'right behind' her decision to have cosmetic surgery.
She said: 'He was all for it - who wouldn't want their wife to look 20 years younger?'
Scarred: Denise Maitland, 65, said the nurse ran out of the room screaming after taking off her bandages
Denise checked into a clinic in 2005 for the two-hour procedure which the couple spent £5,000 of their savings on.
Her surgeon examined her after the op but did not remove her bandages - and failed to spot heavy bleeding.
The grandmother, from Gower, South Wales, said: 'It was horrendous - like I'd been run over by a bus. My face was the colour of aubergines.
'Gareth kept telling me I looked like a chipmunk because my cheeks were bulging. You may think that is funny - but it is not if you are looking at it in the mirror.'
Denise was rushed back to hospital and underwent an emergency operation to save her face. She spent two years being treated by specialists - and blaming herself for her ordeal.
Inspiration: The 65-year-old said she was encouraged to go under the knife by television shows like 10 Years Younger presented by Nicky Hambleton-Jones
She added: 'I kept thinking it was all my fault because I didn't have to have a facelift. I admit it was vain of me - but these things are available to women of my age and I thought nothing could go wrong.'
Grandmother Denise wore a wig for five months to hide the scarring near her ears and was treated in a decompression chamber to minimise the scarring.
She was awarded £15,000 compensation in an out-of-court settlement after launching a legal claim against the facelift clinic in the Midlands.
The surgeon cannot be named as part of the settlement but Denise warned other women off plastic surgery.
She said: 'It's serious surgery and if things go wrong it's very difficult to put right.
'I'm still living with the scars. I shouldn't have had surgery in the first place. I was influenced into thinking it's an easy procedure but my face is ruined.
'I absolutely regret having it done and I'd advise other women to think twice before having any sort of plastic surgery.'
Denise's solicitor, Mike Saul, from TJL Solicitors in Manchester said: 'Denise paid to have a facelift with one of the country's leading cosmetic surgery clinics.
'The main allegation in Denise's case was that the doctor who performed the surgery failed to inspect her wounds prior to her leaving the hospital.
'Had he done so, he would have noticed bleeding which led to skin necrosis which caused permanent skin damage to Denise's face.
'My advice to anyone wanting to have plastic surgery is to do your research. Choose a surgeon rather than a clinic.
'Often doctors employed by big clinics haven't done the relevant training and they are concerned with profit rather than their patients.'
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