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Kellie Maloney nearly died after a cosmetic surgery procedure went drastically wrong

The former boxing promoter compared herself to a 'monster like Frankenstein's', following the procedure

Ella Alexander
Sunday 23 November 2014 13:37 GMT
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Boxing promoter Kellie Maloney, formerly known as Frank Maloney, entered the 2014 Celebrity Big Brother house
Boxing promoter Kellie Maloney, formerly known as Frank Maloney, entered the 2014 Celebrity Big Brother house (Getty)

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Kellie Maloney underwent a life-saving operation after cosmetic surgery nearly killed her earlier this month.

The former boxing promoter was left bleeding from the eyes, as heavy internal bleeding caused her head to swell to twice its size. She almost stopped breathing and spent four days unconscious in intensive care.

“I was bleeding out of my eyes and I was in unimaginable pain,” she told The Mirror.

“Then I just felt my head inflating like a balloon. It was getting bigger and bigger by the second, I could hardly see. I feared it was going to explode.”

Maloney had already undergone hormone therapy, hair removal electrolysis, counselling and voice coaching when she went into surgery in Antwerp on November 4 to look more feminine.

“When I looked at my face in the mirror after the surgery to save me I couldn’t believe what I was looking at,” she said. “I saw my reflection and I just cried my eyes out.

“I thought I would never again pass as a woman or be able to go out in public. I was grotesquely swollen. I was black and blue and had drainage tubes coming out of my head. I had become a monster like Frankenstein’s.”

She was told the morning of the procedure that the venue of the surgery had changed, and after the seven-hour surgery was over she was inconsiderable pain.

Maloney was kept in overnight and she claims that her grievances were dismissed by staff. She was sent home while still bleeding from the eyes and was given painkillers and surgical cleaning solution.

Hours later she found she could not breathe or speak properly and was rushed to hospital.

“A doctor at the hospital said they had to operate on me immediately as they feared I could have died,” said Maloney. “What they had to do was life-saving. I am eternally grateful to them for that.”

The former Big Brother contestant was kept in the hospital sedated as excess blood and fluids was drained from her head, before she was allowed to return to the UK.

Doctors believe the reaction was caused by Aspirin pills taken to thin her blood following a previous heart attack, which triggered major complications, internal haemorrhaging and prevented her wounds from healing.

“Due to taking Aspirin, I’ve lost platelets,” she said. “More advice should be given to the -transgender community about the possible dangers of cosmetic surgery as they could take off abroad to have it done where it may be cheaper, but could be more dangerous.”

Maloney has been warned not to undergo further cosmetic surgery, as her blood now contains low levels of platelets. She was previously scheduled to undergo gender reassignment on 13 January.

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