A woman who suffered leaking, lopsided breasts has finally had them corrected.
Erica, from Boise, Idaho, appears on the E! reality television series, Botched, in which she seeks urgent help from doctors Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow.
Her uneven appearance and suspicious leakage resulted from a bad augmentation surgery when she was just 19 years old – something her then-boyfriend encouraged.
Now, after years of physical and psychological upset, she feels liberated.
‘I’m ready to let go of the hurt from my past relationship and move on with my life’, she said when the offending implants were removed.
Uneven: Erica from Boise, Idaho, seeks help to correct her lopsided ‘leaking ladies’
Disparity: Erica suffered visible difference between her left and right breasts after surgery
Erica first sought medical attention after finding a lump in her breast which turned out to be benign.
At the urging of her then-boyfriend, Erica went under the knife to not only get the lump removed, but to also to receive implants.
This, she later revealed, was on the insistence of her boyfriend.
‘I was in shock [at the time],’ Erica said to the camera. ‘Once it became “I want you to do this because I love you and it’ll be great for us,” that’s when I jumped on board with it.
‘I wanted to be what he wanted me to be,’ she added.
Risk: Her augmented breasts included ‘gross fluid’ and several suspicious masses, they said
Fear: Joined by her mother, Erica has her leaking breasts analysed by the LA-based surgeons
Abnormal: The breasts can be seen oozing puss upon close inspection
Medical insight: Doctors and reality TV stars Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow assess the case
‘Occasionally in plastic surgery, a patient is doing a procedure to make a relative or a boyfriend happy,’ Dr Dubrow explained.
‘That’s an enormous red flag. A plastic surgeon should never operate on a patient under those circumstances.’
After a couple failed revisional procedures, Erica found that she still had her benign lump and daily discharge from her nipple.
It is unclear what the fluid leaking from her breast was, but it appears to be pus.
Since Erica had both ‘a serious cosmetic issue and a serious medical, physical, functional issue’ Dr Dubrow decided to examine the situation for himself.
He recommended that Erica have her implants removed and to use natural breast tissue to rectify the situation.
Sore: The lopsided breasts show her right gland hang lower (L), while more puss leaks out (R)
Looks painful! Scar tissue and swelling can be seen resulting from the botched boob job
Ouch! A surgeon takes a knife to Erica’s breasts and removes the nipple in order to get inside
Messy: Bloody bandages can be seen while the medics painstakingly resolve the issue
Despite feeling uncertain about the game plan, Erica chose to trust Dr Dubrow’s instincts.
During surgery, he and his team found many surprises – including ‘gross fluid’ and several suspicious masses.
Nonetheless, Dr Dubrow was able to give Erica ‘two symmetrical, implant-free breasts’.
After so much drama, Erica was incredibly pleased with the final result. ‘After my surgery, my breasts finally feel normal!’ she said. ‘I no longer have this leaking lump.’
Relief: The popular doctors can be seen removing one of the offending breast implants
Much better! After the corrective procedure, Erica’s bosom was much more normal
Happily ever after: Erica is seen embracing her mother after finally having her breasts sorted