My chest muscles ripped in half and rolled up to my neck after botched £7,000 boob job – it felt like being hit by a bus
A BOTCHED boob job left a woman in excruciating pain after her chest muscles were “ripped in half”.
Kelly Hahn had breast implants fitted in 2019 but experienced capsular contracture – where the scar tissue becomes unusually hard.
The 44-year-old sought help from a private clinic and paid £7,000 to have her old knockers replaced in 2022.
But when Kelly woke up from surgery she said she felt like she had been “hit by a bus”.
The agony in her chest worsened over the following year, but the full-time mum was allegedly “fobbed off” by surgeons who “refused” to help her.
She went to the GP but even after “around 40” trips to A&E in an ambulance, medics couldn’t work out what the issue was.
Eventually Kelly paid £7,000 to go to a different private clinic, which discovered the source of her discomfort and offered to rectify the problem.
But during the “correctional” surgery, the pec muscles in Kelly’s chest allegedly “tore” and “rolled up” to her neck.
Devastated Kelly is now £14,000 out of pocket and has been left with “deflated” breasts.
The parent, from Darlington, County Durham, said: “The pain in my chest was indescribable – like I’d been hit by a bus.
“I must have had 40 ambulances come out to my house over the pain.
“I remember the surgeon who removed the implants and repaired my pec muscles saying, ‘They must have been really rough with you’.
“The muscle in my chest had basically been ripped in half and had rolled up to my neck.
“I spent £14,000 overall and all I’ve been left with a deformed and deflated right breast.”
Kelly had her first set of implants in 2019 – going from an A cup to a C.
Once fitted, scar tissue forms, which is usually soft and not noticeable.
But for Kelly, it was unusually dense and hard – causing her a lot of discomfort.
Two years later, in February 2022, she went to a different clinic where they diagnosed her with capsular contracture, which affects about one in 10 patients – though not all will have symptoms.
Staff offered to remove her implants and replace them with a new set for £7,000 – but things didn’t exactly go according to plan.
‘BURNING’ PAIN
Kelly said: “The moment I woke up from that second surgery with new implants, I knew something didn’t feel right.
“At first, my arm felt funny, and I thought I had slept on it during the recovery period and made it numb.
“I was discharged but rushed back in about four hours later as the pain got so bad.
“It was like my chest and arm were burning.”
The surgeon noted in a letter to Kelly that both pecs were found to be “divided” and had “retracted significantly well above the level of the nipple”.
Kelly continued to experience pain in her chest, shoulder and arm throughout the year and went back and forth to the GP to find the cause.
“I called the clinic every day [as well] but they wouldn’t do anything to help and told me to go to the GP,” she said.
“I felt really fobbed off by them. I was in chronic pain and wasn’t able to leave the house.
“Eventually I was sent to hospital for a scan on my breast, but my breast was fine – the pain was underneath.
“No one at the hospital could see what the issue was.”
The pain in my chest was indescribable – like I’d been hit by a bus.
Kelly Hahn
Eventually, on August 1, 2023, Kelly visited Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for an MRI and ultrasound.
There, she was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome – compression of the nerves in the neck and chest.
“It must have been from that second surgery to replace my implants and the damage I had afterwards, because I didn’t have issues before that,” Kelly said.
“My right hand and arm don’t have very good circulation now, and it goes a funny colour.
“I might need more surgery to repair the nerves at some point in the future.
“Even after everything, I’m still experiencing pain and I’ve battled depression after everything I’ve been through.
“I felt extremely let down by the first clinic and surgeon.
“They were quick to take my money and then not interested in helping after.”
She added: “It doesn’t matter how reputable the clinic is or how much you spend.
“These things do happen, so I want to warn people.”