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‘Brutally Disfigured’: Supermodel Says She’s Living As A Recluse After Botched Cosmetic Surgery

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Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
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Supermodel Linda Evangelista said she’s been living as a recluse after she said a botched cosmetic surgery left her “brutally disfigured.”

“To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers’ careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq’s CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised,” the 56-year-old wrote on Instagram, Page Six reported Thursday.

 

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“It increased, not decreased my fat cells and left me permanently deformed even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful, corrective surgeries,” she added. “I have been left as what the media described, ‘unrecognizable.'”

The supermodel said the botched surgery caused her to “develop paradoxical adipose hyperplasia,” also known as PAH, which creates an enlarged and firm mass under the skin. It’s a risk she claimed she was not made “aware of” before the procedures.

“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing,” Evangelista wrote. “In the process, I have become a recluse.”

Linda also announced her lawsuit against the company and said she hopes to move forward and rid herself of her “shame” by “going public” with her story.”

“I’m so tired of living this way,” she added. “I would like to walk out my door with my head held high, despite not looking like myself any longer.”

As of Thursday, the CoolSculpting website includes a warning about its procedure, according to Page Six.

“Rare side effects may also occur,” the website read. “CoolSculpting and CoolSculpting Elite may cause a visible enlargement in the treated area, which may develop 2 to 5 months after treatment and requires surgical intervention for correction.”