A WOMAN who went abroad to have a boob job was left with collapsed breasts and lost a nipple after the procedure went wrong.
Claire Rigley, 30, an office manager from Eastwood, went to Prague for a breast uplift and implants to correct her "long and saggy" breasts.
"I'd lost four and a half stone. My breasts were already long and saggy and with the weight loss they got worse," says Claire.
She had the operation on April 1, 2008, to take her from a 40FF to a 38DD
"I reduced the size but had volume put in. But April 1 says it all," says Claire.
Her operation cost £3,295 and she spent a further £1,400 on flights, accommodation and expenses. She was quoted £4,800 to have the same operation in the UK but was put off by the longer waiting time.
Claire's surgeon was recommended through an English agency and she received "amazing" treatment in Prague. However, not long after coming home, she noticed her scars were infected and she was developing holes in her breasts.
"When I contacted the clinic to say it had gone wrong they ignored me," says Claire.
She visited her GP and was referred for emergency surgery at Nottingham City Hospital where they had to rescue what was left of her breasts.
"Because they had made them so much smaller I got necrosis – where the blood supply can't get round," says Claire.
"They removed all the dead skin and removed the implants and then sewed me back up."
She lost a nipple and was still left with holes in her breasts and her husband Robert, 35, had to be trained by nurses to plug the holes with a substance made of seaweed and gold.
"It looked a bit like fibreglass and he had to fill the holes with it every day. He is a very committed husband," says Claire.
Having already had children Curtis, 11, and Joel, eight, Claire then went on to have her daughter Isabella, now three.
She accepted she would never have normal breasts again.
She says: "It took a long time for me to get to the stage where I wasn't bothered anymore. I put two bras on most days and put chicken fillets in to give the illusion of breasts."
However, Claire recently saw an advert looking for the victims of botched operations to appear on a TV show and she decided to go for it.
"Within three weeks I was back on the operation table," says Claire.
"I trusted the surgeon but I was petrified at the same time. I got a bit paranoid afterwards thinking that something was going to go wrong."
Claire's corrective surgery was carried out by cosmetic surgeon Mr Vik Vijh at Hereford Nuffield Hospital and she had a nipple tattooed on.
"He did an amazing job. Don't get me wrong, they are far from perfect, but from what they looked like before they are fantastic," says Claire, who can now happily wear a swimming costume.
Claire has looked at suing the clinic in Prague but she hasn't been able to find anyone to take on her case.
Claire says: "All I wanted was the breasts I should have."
Claire says people should think twice before heading abroad for plastic surgery.
See Claire's story at 10pm tonight on TV show The Last Chance Salon on channel TLC, on Sky 125 and Virgin 167.
