<body><div> A mother whose botched <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/facelifts/index.html" rel="nofollow"> facelift </a> left her with rock hard lumps in her face and taking antidepressants has told how she now just wants 'to go back to how (she) was before'. Katie Lowden, 34, a stay-at-home mother of four from Braintree, Essex, had the procedure&nbsp;in July 2022, hoping to boost her confidence in her looks. But after the procedure, she developed granulomas&nbsp;— small clusters of immune cells that can manifest as lumps— on her face. Despite the clinic attempting to dissolve the filler, her condition worsened, causing regular swelling and making her unrecognisable. As result she sunk into a deep <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/depression/index.html" rel="nofollow"> depression </a> postponing her wedding to her fiancé Aaron, 33, and even being prescribed antidepressants. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0vqrCg_0wCp7OOQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0vqrCg_0wCp7OOQ00" width="634" height="963" ><figcaption>Ms Lowden underwent an eight-point facelift, a non-surgical procedure that uses fillers and Botox to add volume to the face, in July 2022. But&nbsp;after the procedure, she developed granulomas — small clusters of immune cells — on her face </figcaption></figure><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Then in December 2022, her ordeal took another turn when she discovered a hard lump on her neck that doctors initially feared it could be <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/cancer/index.html" rel="nofollow"> cancer </a> . But following tests and a biopsy, they confirmed it a result of migrated filler. Filler can physically move away from the site of injection or expand if it's placed incorrectly within the skin, or if there is too much filler in one place as well as if the wrong type is used. Ms Lowden&nbsp;suspects the clinic used a filler not meant for certain areas of the face, but she has received no response from them when seeking confirmation. She is now in the process of undergoing corrective treatments and hopes to regain her former appearance. 'I’ve never felt pretty but all I want is to go back to how I was before, before I had that stupid facelift,' she said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> 'Once it is all sorted, I’ll be happy, I won’t moan about my appearance and I’ll be grateful. <h3 class="mol-factbox-title"> WHAT IS BOTOX? </h3> Botox injections relax the muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles. It's not permanent — it usually lasts for around 3 months. In the UK, the cost of Botox injections can vary from about £100 to £350 for each treatment, depending on the clinic and the area being treated. Botox injections for cosmetic reasons are not available on the NHS. The procedure, which usually only lasts 10 minutes, involves having&nbsp;botulinum toxin injected into the face muscles using a very fine needle. It then takes around two to three days to start working and up to three weeks to see the full effect. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Side effects include, headaches, a frozen look, weakness in the face and bruising, swelling and redness where the needles went into the skin. However, Botox can also be used to treat medical conditions. These include abnormal contractions of the eye, conditions that cause muscle pain and stiffness —such as cerebral palsy&nbsp;— and excessive sweating. Source: <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cosmetic-procedures/botox-injections/" rel="nofollow"> NHS </a> 'I will live in the moment and know that I’m beautiful, and I never needed the facelift in the first place.' Ms Lowden&nbsp;underwent an eight-point facelift, a non-surgical procedure that uses fillers and <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/botox/index.html" rel="nofollow"> Botox </a> to add volume to the face, in July 2022 after feeling insecure about her appearance. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> 'I was bullied through the whole of my school life,' she said. 'So, for me, I never really had confidence, and obviously just seeing people having stuff done kind of made me feel like I want to look like that to give me a little bit of confidence. 'I’ve aged a little bit — I started having my children when I was 18, so I feel like it took a toll on me. 'I really did not (feel) great about myself, so I thought I could give it a go.' Botox, called Botulinum toxin, works by relaxing muscles in the face to smooth out lines and wrinkles, meanwhile, filler adds volume to the face making it look younger. The procedure was done at a licensed clinic where she had previously had lip filler with satisfactory results. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> However, Ms Lowden soon realised it was the 'worst decision' she had 'ever made.' Almost immediately after the procedure, she noticed the small, pea-sized granulomas, forming on her face at the filler injection sites. The tiny clusters of white blood cells can form as a reaction to infections, irritants and foreign objects. 'You couldn’t recognise me, and it was so painful, it was like having rocks sunken into my skin,' Ms Lowden recalled. Although she was reassured by the clinic that the lumps would smooth out after two weeks, a month went by without any improvement. After another month, her entire face swelled up 'like a balloon'. Initially, she didn’t link the swelling to the procedure, assuming it might be a reaction to a bee sting or insect bite and went to&nbsp;A&amp;E, where she was prescribed antibiotics in case of an infection. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> But when her condition didn't improve, she decided to contact the clinic again, who suggested she was experiencing a delayed reaction to the procedure. In September 2022, they attempted to dissolve some of the filler, but this only made things worse causing her face to&nbsp;swell even more, and she started experiencing flare-ups almost every fortnight. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1F6lll_0wCp7OOQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1F6lll_0wCp7OOQ00" width="634" height="742" ><figcaption>Almost immediately after the procedure, she noticed small, pea-sized lumps, known as granulomas, forming on her face at the filler injection sites </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1HdIDL_0wCp7OOQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1HdIDL_0wCp7OOQ00" width="634" height="847" ><figcaption>Doctors were concerned that a lump on her neck could be cancer. But biopsy results revealed it was instead filler the clinic had unsuccessfully attempted to dissolve which had migrated from her jaw to her neck </figcaption></figure> In an attempt to help, a practitioner at the clinic gave her antibiotics, but Ms Lowden said this medication appeared to be under another patient’s name. 'At the time, I just didn’t care, I wanted to get my face sorted,' she admitted. When her condition still didn't improve, the clinic advised her to go the NHS. Around the same time, December 2022, she discovered a hard lump in her neck. Seeking help from medics she was sent for tests with fears the growth could be cancer. Ms Lowden said: 'It was a fairly big lump for your neck...I could hold it and it was rock hard. 'It was very draining, worrying about it, and I just had a lot of humiliation as well, about having it done and it going wrong, it’s been horrible.' Fortunately, in January 2023, results confirmed it wasn't cancer, to the 'huge relief' of Ms Lowden and her loved ones. Instead, it was revealed that the filler the clinic had unsuccessfully attempted to dissolve had migrated from her jaw to her neck. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0ZMIgq_0wCp7OOQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ZMIgq_0wCp7OOQ00" width="634" height="892" ><figcaption>Since August 2024, she has undergone several corrective procedures and is on the road to recovery </figcaption></figure> Amid this ordeal, Ms Lowden made the difficult decision to cancel her wedding, which had been planned for April 2025. 'I cancelled because if I spend all my money to have that perfect day and that gets ruined by my face, I wouldn’t want to get married,' she explained. 'And I know it sounds horrible, but the one day you want to look beautiful, amazing, I’d be let down by swelling. 'So we cancelled it until I could fix my face… my fiancé was amazing about it, but it was so upsetting.' She was also prescribed antidepressants by her GP to cope with the mental strain caused by her experience. 'I wanted to cry every day and it hurt to screw my face up and made it so much worse,' she said. 'I didn’t want to go out and get questions about my face, so my partner would do the school run — I was so scared of being judged.' Determined to repair the damage, Ms Lowden began researching clinics and discovered <a href="http://www.revereclinics.com/" rel="nofollow"> Revere Clinic </a> in Harley Street, London, run by&nbsp;celeb cosmetic doctor, Dr Sach Mohan. Since August 2024, she has undergone several corrective procedures and is on the road to recovery. She said: 'When he dissolved it, I could feel a crunch of him hitting the granuloma and it actually dissolved properly. 'It’s just been amazing. I can’t thank him enough, I didn’t feel judged and he knew exactly what he was doing, and it’s making me feel good again. 'He can help repair the tissue as well, so it’s looking good.' Although she is unsure how much the total cost will be for the repairs, she expects it to run into the thousands. Now, Ms Lowden is looking forward to re-planning her wedding and is hopeful that her face will return to how it looked before she had the facelift. </div></body>

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Katie Lowden, 34, who lives in Braintree, Essex with her four children and fiancé Aaron, 33 (pictured left) was left with hard lumps in her face following a non-surgical facelift.

I was beautiful - all I want is to go back to how I looked before': Mother of one, 34, reveals anguish as cosmetic procedure millions of women have each year destroys her looks