Warning: This article contains images which some readers may find distressing
A woman who underwent a 'mummy makeover' for £20,000 has said it 'destroyed my life'.
Erica Zaccone from New Jersey, US, claims to have been the victim of a 'botched' operation that has left her 'deformed'.
The 38-year-old naturally lost five stone through diet and exercise when she was 22 but was left with a bit of loose skin.
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Fifteen years later, with the help of surgery, Erica opted to have the skin removed via an expensive treatment, known as the mummy makeover, in 2024.
This consisted of a tummy tuck, a breast lift and liposuction with the best surgeon she could afford.
Five consultations later, her boyfriend helped her get the tummy tuck done 'as it was something I wanted'.
After six hours of surgery, a black scab formed on her tummy, which doctors said was necrosis, which is the death of the cells in your body tissues.
Doctors removed the scab and it caused permanent nerve damage, taking three months to heal.
Waiting to have further revisions on her scar, Erica is urging people to 'think twice' before having plastic surgery.
"I feel like I'm being punished for not loving my body enough, I feel like a shell of the person I used to be," she admitted.
"At the time I felt like I was hiding a dirty secret under my clothes.
"I'd done all this work, I lost the weight, I was in great shape but I had loose skin and stretchmarks on my stomach that everyone would be able to see.
"I felt like I was a walking catfish. It was this deep, deep insecurity that I felt was holding me back in every aspect of my life."
Because she was advised to clean her scab with 'a very strong antiseptic solution' it gave her 'chemical burn because I was soaking it in gauze every single day, twice a day'.
While unsure of the cause, Erica thinks it might be from having the liposuction and tummy tuck during the same surgery.
Erica said: "There was no reason for me to ever think this would happen. It was a board-certified, highly-rated and highly recommended surgeon.
"What made this so traumatic is I was at a very low risk.
"I would see the pictures of necrosis but it was always on people who were unhealthy, had poor blood circulation, diabetic, and were overweight - I had none of these problems.
"What caused it could be a couple of different combinations of things - it could be the blood loss, it could be with the lipo, that I was under too long or that I bled too much."
The former bartender has urged those considering surgery to weigh up the cost of if it goes wrong.
"We see these celebrities jet off for a weekend and come back with new faces and bodies with no issues, it's so normalised now," she added.
"But no surgery is safe, it doesn't matter what it is. Anytime you are put under anaesthesia and cut open you are at a risk. Knowing what I know now I would never have gotten it done."
Anish Vij