A woman who lost her right breast and half her left one after undergoing cosmetic enhancement surgery will be filing a court case against the surgeon and the hospital over the coming days.
Anita Roehsl, who shared her story with Times of Malta, said that a year ago she decided to have a breast lift and implants because she wanted to “look beautiful”. But the surgery that was meant to boost her self-confidence shattered it instead.
The nipple of her right breast turned black and she later learnt her breast tissue was rotting away due to a lack of blood supply. Two months after surgery she had to undergo another operation, at another hospital, to remove all the dead tissue – all her right breast and half of her left one.
“Can you imagine not having your breasts? I wanted them to be nicer and instead I came out with nothing left. How would you feel?” the 53-year-old said. “It’s a mixture of anger and blaming yourself for wrong decisions. You don’t feel like seeing anybody, you don’t even want to see yourself,” she said.
You don’t feel like seeing anybody, you don’t even want to see yourself
Ms Roehsl, who is Australian, has been visiting Malta regularly for the past 20 years and even worked on the island.
Last year she decided to have the breast operation.
“What for? That’s always a good question. A woman wants to be beautiful,” she said.
She booked a consultation at a hospital for the €7,000 procedure.
On September 14 last year she underwent the lengthy seven-and-a-half hour operation that included removing excess skin from her arms.
When she woke up after the operation her right nipple was black. Four weeks later, it had to be surgically removed.
Her breast continued to swell and she had a constant high fever.
It was all rotting from the inside
On seeing that her condition was just getting worse she decided to get a second opinion and consulted another doctor at another clinic.
“When he saw my breast he knew how urgent it was because it was all rotting from the inside,” she said. The surgeon operated on her the following day, November 3, and removed all the dead tissue.
She was told she had necrosis, which is the irreversible death of body tissue that occurs when there is not enough blood.
“When I realised what was going on, that I was dying from the inside, I feared for my life,” she said.
To try to minimise the damage her next step is to undergo breast reconstruction that will require at least another three operations.
“Now it’s not about cosmetic surgery, but reconstruction, which is more serious than going for fun to look good,” she said.
Ms Roehsl advised women contemplating such surgery to be aware of the risks.