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A woman has told how she was left just moments from death after her botchedbreast implants began to leak silicone into her body.

Carol Paredes said she decided wanted the procedure done after becoming "fed up" with her B-cup chest - but in her bid to become "perfect", she unwittingly put her life on the line.

Within only a few years, the 52-year-old was using a wheelchair after the implants caused her a series of mystery complications, culminating in a dramatic hospitaltrip that saw surgeons race against the clock to remove them.

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“I was deteriorating,” the former fitness coach said. “I couldn’t stand, walk or sleep. And I was living in pain 24/7.

“I went from being strong and active to ending up in a wheelchair. My body was shutting down and no one could explain why.”

Carol, who spent £3,600 on the surgery in 2016, found it a struggle to wear dresses due to her “full hips, full bottom, small chest” ratio. Her partner at the time then said: “You have a great a**, but if you had a little more boob, you’d be perfect”.

It triggered her decision to go through with the procedure in Miami, Florida, US, where she lives, with a “highly recommended” surgeon. But when she woke up, alarm bells started ringing.

The 52-year-old said: “I could feel the implant on the side, which made me think it hadn’t been placed properly. He also did one size bigger than I had asked for.”

Carol didn’t question the size - 34D, instead of C - until 2021, when she developed an agonising pain in her groin persisted.

She said: “It was extremely sharp, like a knife was being stuck in and twisted. There was no position or movement that could relieve it; it was a relentless, daily struggle.

“I was told by doctors that there was nothing wrong. It was either stress or all in my head. I kept going back, had X-rays done, but each time nothing was found. I started questioning whether I was going crazy. But then the pain progressed.”

Carol started developing arthritis, which rapidly worsened, eventually leaving her paralysed.

She said: “It became a living nightmare with no way out. I tried every diet imaginable to help, as well as alternative therapies and even drinking my own urine. Nothing worked and no doctor could fix me. I was told over and over that they had ‘never seen a case’ like mine.

“It made me feel completely helpless. I thought this was the end. But I wasn’t scared of dying; I was scared of continuing to live like this.”

In one last bid to save herself, she came across a chiropractor charging £735 for a consultation. He confirmed all of her mystery symptoms stemmed from the breast implants.

She said: “I was so p***** off. I thought he was trying to scam me. So I went back to the surgeon and demanded for them to be removed.

“An MRI confirmed my left implant had ruptured and the silicone was leaking through my body. It quickly became an emergency to get them out.”

During the ordeal in 2021, Carol claims a chiropractor accidentally dislocated her hips, which left her needing two replacements in May 2023 and August 2023 respectively.

And due to an infection during the removal in December 2022, she had to undergo open-heart surgery in March 2024 as it had left her with an aneurysm.

At this point, Carol was left in a severe amount of debt, totalling £11,000, relying on a GoFundMe, selling all her belongings and even her parents’ apartment to bail her out.

Carol still suffers some after-effects from the implants, including some difficulty walking, but is now in far less pain than before. She shares stories from her health battles on social media, with a stream of messages from women across the globe relating to her experience.

It’s hoped sharing her story will help to raise further awareness around the dangerous side effects of cosmetic surgery - and why people should think very carefully before having procedures done.

She added: “I really thought my body was going to break down. I couldn’t live my life like that any longer. Now, the pain is completely gone. I might be back on my feet, but I can’t walk like I did before.

“It’s just another reminder of the life long damage these implants have caused. I lost five years of life, as well as plunging myself into debt.

‘If you’ve got a mysterious illness after having implants; get them removed. I didn’t know what was happening to me until it was almost too late. Don’t risk your life trying to be perfect – as there’s no such thing.”