Televised Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong
Five years ago, a British flight attendant visited Los Angeles for free plastic surgery.
A show in the United Kingdom called Brand New You gave her an extreme makeover worth $250,000, and then they put her in the spotlight. Thirty-five year old Nicola Stratton, of Lancashire, England, claims she felt like an overnight celebrity after getting the surgeries. The five foot ten Nicola said the surgeries took her from a dress size of 14 down to a size 12, and that a new pair of saline breast implants boosted her from a B-cup to a double-D. She was also given a nose job, a brow lift, an eye lift, laser eye surgery and dental work.
Stratton, who later appeared on the show fully made over, admitted the surgery has given her more confidence and vitality.
But one of the procedures has recently backfired, and she now has to undo the damage. Stratton discovered in January that the saline implant in her left breast had ruptured and leaked. Further tests showed that the right implant is also at risk of bursting, and doctors are now recommending silicone replacements.
The producers of Brand New You say they aren’t liable, and refuse to pay for the operation.
Stratton’s original breast augmentation included a ten-year warranty, and the surgeon who installed her saline implants has offered to put in new ones made of silicone.
Some patients elect to use saline implants, as despite the multiple scientific studies that validate the safety of silicone gel implants, they feel more comfortable with the choice of saline.
But unlike silicone implants, saline implants are known to leak and deflate, and they can also often appear wrinkled or rippled underneath the skin.
Our plastic surgery news breast augmentation expert, Dr. William P. Adams, Jr. in Dallas, Texas says all current breast implant types are durable devices and that deflation rates for saline implants are 1% per year thru the first 10 years. He also noted that deflation at 5 years in this case is the exception rather than the norm.
Stratton has said her new silicone surgery will include several thousand dollars in extra fees that she’s required to pay herself.
And right now, she said, she can’t afford it.
