A woman said she has been left looking like ‘E.T.’ after having a facelift by a doctor from Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies. Shirley Ridley, 54, from Middlesbrough, decided to get the surgery after finding out she was going to be a mother at 51, and booked an appointment with cosmetic surgeon Sultan Hassan, who appeared on the show.
She also paid £4,600 to have her eyes done, and was pleased with the results, but is disappointed with how her £13,000 facelift turned out after she had it in June in Birmingham.
She said: ‘My eyes look younger. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me going. But my face, it looks dreadful. I look older than I have ever looked.’
Shirley Ridley, 54, pictured before, left, from Middlesbrough, booked an appointment with cosmetic surgeon Sultan Hassan. But the lift, which cost more than £17,000, has left her in agony when she moves her head and jaw three weeks on from the operation, right
Shirley said she feels she looks like ET and that the botched procedure left her feeling suicidal and looking ‘miserable’
She continued: ‘I haven’t done this purely out of vanity. I’m not trying to look 23 and have lovely big, full lips and everything. I just wanted to take the age away.
‘It looks just as bad now, if not worse because I’m all out of proportion because there’s no skin on my neck.’
Shirley welcomed twins 20 months ago and said she wanted to look younger for welcoming the new babies.
Shirley revealed she had Botox before, and that the woman who administered it said Shirley would been a facelift to fix the area around her mouth.
She then went on to have a consultation with Sultan Hassan, where she asked for a lower face lift, but did not expect her neck to be affected.
The surgeon told her he would give her a microlift. She questioned when they quoted for a microlift rather than a face lift and was told it was a kind of face lift.
In the aftermaths of the procedure, pictured, Shirley was happy and couldn’t wait to see the results, but her joy was short-lived
The mother-of-two, who is unhappy with how her neck looks after the procedure, pictured, has said her children can sense she is not being the ‘mother she should be;’
Despite having a quote for half the price from an NHS surgeon, Shirley decided to pay more for Mr Hassan in the hope he would be able to minimise the operation’s scarring.
Shirley said she developed an infection around the cuts made during the procedure and that she has remained in pain three weeks on from the surgery.
‘I was suicidal. I’ve just been thinking to myself I think I’d be better off dead,’ she said. ‘When I went to bed last night I told my husband that I can’t kill myself because of our children.
‘I love life and I won’t do it. But most of all my children are suffering already because I’m not the mother I should be.
Three weeks on from the procedure, Shirley, pictured, said she is just recovering from an infection, and says she was left with painful scars
‘They can sense the unhappiness and they are miserable. That is how bad I look.’
She continued: ‘There’s no flexibility and there doesn’t seem anywhere for all that’s been left in of my face to go. For him to do this to somebody’s neck that doesn’t need anything doing to it want to it is just bizarre.
‘It was a particular area of my face that needed attention. And he was told this but he just completely ignored it.
‘The problems around my mouth have been accentuated and because of all the skin he took from my neck they’re more visible than ever.’
Shirley’s right ear before the cosmetic surgeon took out her stitches following the procedure earlier this summer
While she was able to hide some of her scars behind her hair net and overalls at work, the job remains extremely uncomfortable.
Shirley has now made an official complaint to the surgery but has heard nothing back.
Shirley has spoken to Citizens Advice in the hope of getting some of her money back to pay for corrective surgery.
Carolyn Andrews, the Practice Manager of Elite Surgical said: ‘Every patient undergoes a thorough, in-depth consultation process with a fully accredited and experienced Consultant Plastic Surgeon who is on the GMC Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery.
‘We have some of the highest levels of patient satisfaction for our cosmetic surgical interventions.
Shirley’s neck after the surgery. The mother-of-two said she feels like ET due to her long neck after the procedure
‘It is vital that a patient is realistic about their expectations from surgery and occasionally they need to be open about all their wishes not being achievable.
‘During the consultation process the surgeon clarifies the treatment options and plans any proposed treatment with full discussion of potential risks involved and any limitations.
‘All patients are given further information in writing setting out in clear terms risks and likely benefits of treatment and are always given enough time to have any questions answered.
‘Patients must be confident about their decision to have cosmetic surgery and a mandatory cooling off period is standard in our practice.
‘We offer psychological support both before and after cosmetic surgery as there are both physical and psychological aspects involved in the healing and recovery process.
‘Aftercare is as important as the surgery itself, so it is imperative that patients liaise with us and comply with their aftercare advice especially if they have any postoperative concerns. We are fully regulated by the CQC.’
