Devastated mum cancels wedding after botched facelift made her swell up 'like a balloon'

Katie Lowden is informing quality enthusiasts astir the imaginable broadside effects of treatments aft a dodgy facelift intended to amended her assurance near her housebound with nary wedding

A mum was forced to postpone her wedding aft a botched facelift made her swell up similar a "balloon".

Katie Lowden, 34, from Braintree, Essex, says the "stupid facelift" near her depressed and excessively embarrassed to instrumentality her kids to school. She says it was the "worst decision" she could person made and suspects that it went pear-shaped owed to the benignant of filler used.

The stay-at-home mum, who had antecedently received treatment astatine the clinic, believes they whitethorn person utilized a filler which shouldn't beryllium utilized successful immoderate areas of the face. She was near successful an affectional authorities aft it looked similar "rocks" had "sunken" into her tegument soon aft the procedure.

She booked successful for the process that uses dermal fillers and botox successful a bid to amended her assurance successful July 2022. After the ordeal, the clinic, which she has chosen not to name, attempted to reverse the harm but had nary luck. In December 2022, she discovered a hard lump connected her cervix and doctors initially feared it could beryllium cancer, but aft tests and a biopsy, they confirmed it was migrated filler.

Katie, who lives with her 4 children and fiance Aaron, 33, a landscaper, said: “I’ve ne'er felt pretty, but each I privation is to spell backmost to however I was earlier I had that anserine facelift. Once it is each sorted, I’ll beryllium happy, I won’t moan astir my quality and I’ll beryllium grateful. I volition unrecorded successful the infinitesimal and cognize that I’m beautiful, and I ne'er needed the facelift successful the archetypal place.”

Katie underwent the eight-point facelift after “always having a problem” with her appearance. She explained: “I was bullied done the full of my schoolhouse life. So, for me, I ne'er truly had confidence, and evidently conscionable seeing radical having worldly done benignant of made maine consciousness similar I privation to look similar that to springiness maine a small spot of confidence. I’ve aged a small spot – I started having my children erstwhile I was 18, truthful I consciousness similar it took a toll connected me. I truly did not (feel) large astir myself, truthful I thought I could springiness it a go.”

Almost instantly aft the procedure, Katie noticed small, pea-sized lumps, known arsenic granulomas, forming connected her look astatine the filler injection sites. She does not privation to disclose however overmuch the process costs. “You couldn’t recognise me, and it was truthful painful, it was similar having rocks sunken into my skin,” Katie recalled. Although she was reassured by the session that the lumps would creaseless retired aft 2 weeks, a period went by without immoderate improvement. So, Katie went to A&E, wherever she was prescribed antibiotics successful lawsuit of an infection, but her information did not improve.

She contacted the clinic again, who suggested she was experiencing a delayed absorption to the procedure. In September 2022, they attempted to dissolve immoderate of the filler, but this lone worsened the situation. Her look swelled adjacent more, and she began experiencing flare-ups astir each 2 weeks.

When her information inactive did not improve, the session advised her to sojourn an NHS hospital. Around the aforesaid time, successful December, Katie discovered a hard lump successful her neck. After undergoing scans and consulting with NHS doctors, she had a biopsy arsenic determination were concerns it could beryllium cancer. Fortunately, successful January 2023, the biopsy results confirmed it was not cancer, which was a “huge relief” for Katie and her loved ones. Instead, the filler that the session had unsuccessfully attempted to dissolve had migrated from her jaw to her neck.

Amid this ordeal, Katie made the hard determination to cancel her wedding, which had been planned for April 2025. “I cancelled due to the fact that if I walk each my wealth to person that cleanable time and that gets ruined by my face, I wouldn’t privation to get married,” Katie explained. “And I cognize it sounds horrible, but the 1 time you privation to look beautiful, amazing, I’d beryllium fto down by swelling. So we cancelled it until I could hole my face… my fiance was astonishing astir it, but it was truthful upsetting.”

She was besides prescribed antidepressants by her GP to header with the intelligence strain caused by her experience. “I wanted to outcry each time and it wounded to screw my look up and made it truthful overmuch worse,” Katie said. “I didn’t privation to spell retired and get questions astir my face, truthful my spouse would bash the schoolhouse tally – I was truthful frightened of being judged.”

Determined to repair the damage, Katie began researching clinics and discovered Revere Clinic successful Harley Street, London. The laminitis and celeb cosmetic doctor, Dr Sach Mohan, met with Katie and made her consciousness comfortable, with corrective procedures making up astir 15% of his objective workload. Since August 2024, she has undergone respective corrective procedures and is connected the roadworthy to recovery.

She said: “When helium dissolved it, I could consciousness a crunch of him hitting the granuloma and it really dissolved properly. It’s conscionable been amazing. I can’t convey him enough, I didn’t consciousness judged and helium knew precisely what helium was doing, and it’s making maine consciousness bully again. He tin assistance repair the insubstantial arsenic well, truthful it’s looking good.”