When 33-year-old Alex Cater dropped 10 stone, slimming down to a svelte size 12, she felt sexier than ever.
But, when she noticed her breasts had begun to sag, she consulted a plastic surgeon in the hope of having the body of her dreams.
Feeling lucky, she entered a competition to win a ''boob job'' at the Alexandra Hospital in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and, as runner-up, won £500 towards the £3,500 surgery but her troubles began when she was referred to Dr Amedeo Usai. When she came round from the anaesthetic, she was heartbroken to find her surgeon had botched the surgery and when she pleaded for him to correct it, Usai sneered: “You can’t pay for a Mini and get a Ferrari.”
The doctor also commented: “I don’t agree with breast augmentation anyway, I don’t know why women have it done,” before asking, “why are you worrying about your breasts when you’ve got a pretty face?”
Alex turned to a second surgeon to repair the damage, but faced further heartache when she was told the damage done by Dr Usai was ‘so incredible’ that it simply could not be rectified. For months, she forced to wear a dressing gown chord around her neck to ‘hold up’ her breasts – the only way she felt relief from the ‘crippling agony’ caused by Dr Usai.
Eventually the Alexandra Hospital offered Alex corrective surgery to have the implants removed. Dr Usai, based in Preston, Lancashire, was later struck off the medical register after being found guilty of misconduct at a disciplinary hearing of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service. He has since left the UK to move back to his native Rome.
Cavendish Press's coverage of Alex's horrifying story has appeared in That's Life magazine. If you have a story please contact us on 0161 237 1066 or email [email protected].