After the birth of her first child, Amy, 26, decided to undergo breast augmentation surgery. She says that her bust had deflated to an A cup, and she wanted the surgery to feel better about her body. She says she researched surgeons in her area and took out a loan to pay for the procedure. Her husband, Marco, says they both felt comfortable with the surgeon they chose.

Shortly after surgery, however, Amy says she began experiencing pain and numbness from her armpit to her elbow.

“It feels like a stabbing knife,” she explains.

When she visited the surgeon for a follow-up, he told her not to worry and he would meet with her again in a few months. When her symptoms became worse, she reached out to the doctor again, only to find that his office was closed. She and Marco then were shocked to see the surgeon featured on the evening news in a story about malpractice. A quick Internet search found several other former patients with similar stories of botched surgeries. 

Amy then began experiencing a sharp pain from her left breast up to her neck, along with flu-like symptoms and violent chills, and noticed that her left breast slowly became smaller and smaller. An X-ray revealed that her saline implant had leaked and completely deflated. She says she was too embarrassed to tell anyone, including her husband, and goes to great lengths each day to hide her uneven breasts.

“I feel completely deformed,” she says through tears.

• Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon explains what happens when an implant deflates inside the body: