'I spent £450,000 trying to fix my face as plastic surgery left me unrecognisable'

A young woman spent $600,000 (£450,000) trying to fix her face after plastic surgery left her "unrecognisable".

Jelena Robinson consulted a surgeon about reshaping her chin along with an eye lift and earlobe replacement. She claims she was told the procedure would be a "piece of cake" so she paid $13,000 (£9,700) and went ahead with the operations two weeks later.

But the 30-year-old woman, who had previously had lip fillers, a breast enlargement and a nose job, claims the surgeon removed a substantial part of her lower jaw, and she was unable to eat or speak for four months after the chin operation.

An X-ray showed her jaw was broken and she underwent emergency surgery to fix the problem, but left the hospital with her mouth wired shut and spent four months on a liquid diet.

Since her initial procedure in November 2022, Jelena's husband passed away, and she used the money he left her flying around Europe trying to "fix her face" - including having facelifts, dissolving fillers, laser treatments and jaw surgery.

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Jelena, a make up artist from Miami, Florida, said: "For me, my look is so important. This has been so hard to accept; everything about my life is about the beauty industry. I don't recognise myself anymore, I don't socialise, I don't go out or work anymore. My life is going from doctor to doctor, half of them are just taking my money. My life has become a nightmare."

Jelena's ordeal began in November 2022 when she was planning a career as an influencer and decided to get some surgery to look her best.

She wanted to get her jaw reshaped, an eye lift and an earlobe reduction - which was set to cost her $13,000.

"I had just finished beauty school, and I had big plans to start working as an influencer," she said. I wanted everything to be perfect, and do a little bit of reshaping on my chin. I went to the plastic surgeon for a consultation. He said it was an easy job, told me it was a piece of cake, and he could do it."

She went under the knife two weeks later and was amazed when she awoke to discover the procedure had taken six hours. Jelena claims the surgeon had removed a substantial part of her lower jaw bone and could barely speak or eat.

"A six-hour operation is for a heart transplant, not small procedures like that. I was sent home by the surgeon, and when I got home, I could barely eat or talk," she said.

"I called the surgery the next day and was told the surgeon was out of town. I demanded to see someone and was seen by his colleague. They just bandaged me up and sent me home."

Jelena went back for a follow-up appointment and claims she was told it was "just swelling" and sent home. In December 2022, still struggling to speak, she paid $500 for an x-ray which showed her jaw was broken and she needed immediate surgery.

Jelena said: "The doctor performed the surgery on my jaw and wired my jaw shut. I had a wired shut mouth until March 2023 - I was on a liquid diet.

"In March, when I got the wires taken out, I was told I needed another jaw surgery as I had an overbite. This is where the spiralling costs started."

In May 2023, Jelena spent $100,000 on dental work because she still wasn't able to move her mouth fully. Since her initial procedure with her surgeon, Jelena claims he has "disappeared" and not been in contact.

She has spent a fortune flying around Europe for consultations and surgeries, including jaw surgery, rhinoplasty, new teeth and jaw filler.

Despite the large amount of money she has spent, Jelena said she still doesn't feel comfortable within herself and is still in need of another jaw surgery.

Jelena said: "This is the worst I have ever felt in my life. I have had suicidal thoughts from time to time. It is so hard to accept how I look, my look to me is so important.

"One doctor told me that I looked like a disaster. No doctor should ever say that to a patient. Mentally, it has really affected me; my life has completely changed."

The surgeon did not respond to a request for comment.