Thiago Delgado, 35, says he “cries every day” as a result of the damage left by his desire to have plumper lips.
His story adds to the thousands of others highlighting the dangers of unregulated lip filler procedures.
People have been left with rotting tissue, needing lip amputations, lumps and even blinded by dodgy jobs.
As UK legislation on injectables is scarce, anyone can legally administer dermal fillers without qualifications.
But in a huge step forwards, under 18s are now banned from getting fillers and botox in a huge win for The Sun’s ‘Had Our Fill’ campaign.
Thiago had his procedure where he lives in Brazil, paying BRL 1,800 (£253).
He went to a dentist called Ronaldo Kora in Angra dos Reis, Costa Verde do Rio, on June 11.
Thiago claims Kora seemed nervous at the beginning of the procedure.
The dentist used hyaluronic acid on his upper lip – the most popular type of lip filler.
Thiago says he instantly felt pain, telling local media reporters: “As soon as he started to fill the left side, I saw he started to become very nervous. I asked ‘Ronaldo, is everything okay? Am I looking good?’.
“He remained silent. Because of that, I started to get a little distressed. He immediately started to massage me, and it hurt a lot.
“He prescribed me a medicine and I went home.
“When I arrived home, my mother saw my lip was turning purple. I went to sleep and I woke up with an unbearable pain.”
Thiago’s pain became so bad that he had to go to hospital, where he was prescribed morphine.
I even asked God to take my life because of so much pain I felt
Thiago Delgado
He contacted the dentist the following day and was told there had been a complication during the procedure.
Thiago said: “He made a video call with another man, who he called master.
“He didn’t know what to do, he was listening to what this guy was saying.
“Out of nowhere, another dentist appeared that I had never seen and only then was I told there was a complication.”
The complication would have dire consequences.
Four days after the procedure, Thiago decided to see a dermatologist and was told the side of his nose was “mummified” due to lack of blood supply.
Rotting flesh
One of the most severe complications of lip fillers is when the filler blocks a blood vessel, disrupting its supply.
It leads to tissue death (necrosis) almost immediately after the injection.
People unfortunate enough to suffer the problem will typically have pale skin in the affected area, because there is no blood supply to it, followed by purple discoloration when the tissue has died.
Thankfully for Thiago, a medical team were able to recover his lips.
But he needs extensive surgery to fix the damage to his nose, which Thiago appears to have already started.
Experts say Thiago could need four operations which would come at a huge cost.
Although Thiago’s friends have offered to donate what they can to pay for the operations, the young man has sold his motorcycle and some of his furniture to scrounge up the necessary cash.
He said: “The surgery will remove cartilage behind my ear to put on the wing of my nose and, from my cheek, he will also remove it, to be able to cover the flap.
“He said that the closer you take it to where it was necrotised, the less chance of rejection.”
Thiago was left in so much pain after the procedure that he felt suicidal.
He said: “I even asked God to take my life because of so much pain I felt. My face will never go back to what it was.”
Thiago claims the dentist at first offered to pay the costs of the treatment, including the operations and transport, but he has allegedly not heard from him since.
He said the procedure has damaged his self-confidence so much he has a “crying fit” every day and intends to take Kora to court.
The police have opened a criminal investigation into dentist Ronaldo de Carvalho Kora.
Kora has not responded to requests for comment from Jam Press.
The risks: Unregulated lip fillers could cause blindness or a stroke
Doctors have previously warned over the deadly side-effects associated with unregulated lip fillers – which can cause blindness or a stroke.
Leading cosmetic doctor Tijion Esho, founder of the Esho Clinic, said people can cause “catastrophic” damage to themselves by jumping on the filler bandwagon.
He said: “From hematomas to infections, abscess and tissue necrosis (where blood vessels become blocked with filler leading the tissue in that area to die), there are so many consequences to consider.
“People can go blind and suffer a stroke.
“There’s a risk of infection, abscesses can form and tissue necrosis is also a risk. People can be permanently disfigured.
“My fear is that something really bad will happen before people take note, which is why I’ll always be fighting for legislation.”
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