Anita Roehsl, who lost her right breast and half of her left one after having cosmetic surgery, has filed an official complaint before the medical council.
Last month, Times of Malta published Ms Roehsl’s story when she recounted her decision to have a breast lift and implants a year ago because she wanted to “look beautiful”.
But after surgery, her right nipple turned black and she later learnt her breast tissue was rotting away due to poor blood supply.
Two months after surgery she had a further operation, at another hospital, to remove the dead tissue – which was all her right breast and half of her left.
Ms Roehsl said she planned to take her case to court and has also filed a complaint with the Malta Medical Council, which is tasked with ensuring ethical and professional standards among doctors.
The council has the legal power to investigate any allegation of professional misconduct or breach of ethics by a healthcare professional.
If a breach is established the council can recommend that the professional’s licence is withdrawn or suspended, or it can impose a penalty.
The Malta Medical Council is tasked with ensuring ethical and professional standards among doctors
Ms Roehsl, who is Australian, has visited Malta regularly for the past 20 years and has also worked on the island.
On September 14 last year, she underwent the seven-and-a-half-hour procedure, which included removing excess skin from her arms and cost her €7,000.
When she woke up after the operation her right nipple was black. Four weeks later, it had to be surgically removed.
On seeing that her condition was deteriorating, she decided to get a second opinion and consulted a doctor at another clinic. The surgeon there operated on her the following day, removing all the dead tissue.
Ms Roehsl was told she had necrosis, which is the irreversible death of body tissue that occurs when there is an inadequate blood supply.
She now plans to have reconstruction surgery and has advised women contemplating such surgery to be aware of the risks before going under the knife.