Sutton Coldfield pensioner unable to close his eyes for 3 years after cosmetic surgery

A pensioner claims botched surgery means he hasn’t been able to close his eyes - for nearly THREE YEARS.

Pete Broadhurst, 79, splashed out £11,000 on a cosmetic procedure to fix his puffy cheeks in 2019.

But, even after corrective surgery, his left eye is still permanently open - causing him constant problems.

Pete has to tape his eyes shut when he sleeps and use drops eight times a day to prevent them drying out.

He says he looks "frightening" as his eyes stay open even when he wants to close them - and claims his appearance has cost him relationships.

Pete, a retired painter and decorator, is speaking out now to warn others about the dangers of surgery.

He said: "Getting on the bus one day a man said, ‘my God, what’s happened to your face?’.

"I was already feeling down it just made it worse. Now I’m only worried about getting my eyes comfortable.

"It’s gone beyond how I look. I just want relief. I want to tell others to be careful because it can ruin your life."

Pete’s problem started in 1959, when he had a class 3 occlusion to fix a tooth problem which led to him having enlarged cheeks.

He said: "I had puffy hamster cheeks. Years ago I was in a relationship with a girl and we had two children and she was leaving me.

"I said, ‘why are you leaving when we’ve got everything? Look at how lucky we are.’ And she said, ‘go look in the mirror, that’s why I’m leaving’."

After two further relationships where his insecurities about his looks grew, Pete decided he wanted to get corrective surgery.

So, the father-of-two, from Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield, decided late in 2018 that he would go in for a procedure.

He approached BMI The Priory Hospital, who quoted him £11,000 to undergo a neck lift, under eye blepharoplasty and a rhinoplasty that would help reduce his cheeks.

And, on January 24, 2019, he underwent the nine-hour procedure, and was discharged the next day.

Pete said: "I looked like I’d been beaten up. It was horrendous, and I couldn’t close my eyes.

"I’m being sick all through the night and in my sleep. The day after the surgery I wished I’d never gone."

Pete claims he was vomiting and couldn’t pass urine but just took these as the normal after effects of surgery.

The following Monday, after leaving the hospital, Pete had a catheter fitted, thinking initially it was to do with his prostate.

But he now believes that his problems passing urine were due to spending an elongated period of time under general anaesthetic where he couldn’t go to the toilet.

He returned to the hospital two weeks after the surgery to get the stitches removed, and told the medics that his eyes were very irritated and watering.

But Pete claims that they told him all was normal and these side effects would pass by themselves.

He then went to the Good Hope Hospital on March 23, 2019 to have a routine prostate exam.

But the doctor noticed his damaged eyes - and he was referred to Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.

There they told him his eyes weren’t closing fully when he blinked or slept causing him irritation - a common complication of eyelid surgery called ectropion.

However, the doctors there couldn’t treat him as he had the original surgery privately, so he returned to BMI.

His surgeon arranged for a free corrective surgery at BHI Parkside for a skin graft to help the skin in his cheeks meet his eyelids.

He had the hour-long surgery on May 13, 2019.

But, more than two years later, Pete claims he still can’t fully close his left eye - and the right one is completely shut.

He said: "My eyes were distorted, I could barely see at all. She’d lifted my left eyelid up and my right eye had a blinker in the corner. It never improved again.

"I was unable to see and at night I still had to tape it shut."

Pete has been prescribed eye drops to take eight times a day, and was told to microwave a towel to wrap around his eyes for when he sleeps.

His vision is now so poor he can’t drive a car or make out people’s facial expressions, and has had to give up his hobby of shooting as he can’t see the target.

All private hospitals have since refused to provide any further surgery as they could exacerbate his vision issues, and the NHS had a year-long waiting list.

This has meant Pete felt forced to go abroad, resulting in a £7,000 lower eyelid blepharoplasty at the Clinic Mono in Turkey.

He saw the surgery advertised in the newspaper as where Katie Price goes, and is due back there later this year for a follow-up procedure.

Pete said: "My left eye is still open today. Whoever you trust, even a top surgeon, please be careful because it can ruin your life."

A BMI Healthcare spokesman said: "We can’t comment on the detail of individual cases, but we are committed to the highest standards of patient safety and care quality and are investigating this matter thoroughly.

"The surgeon in question is currently suspended as we are mirroring an NHS trust suspension."

Lindsey Sharp, from BHI Parkside, said: "BHI does not provide healthcare. It provides space to NHS, private consultants and other healthcare professionals to undertake services they are qualified to provide."

The surgeon who performed Pete’s surgery at BHI Parkside declined to comment as she cannot share confidential information about patients.

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