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| 'Unbearable' pain ... Vanessa Halstead |
A CORRIE actress has told how her faulty PIP breast implant swelled to the size of her HEAD — then exploded.
Vanessa Halstead, 29, who played a cocktail waitress in the soap and has also appeared in Hollyoaks, suffered "unbearable" pain when her right DD breast suddenly grew huge and incredibly painful.
The former underwear model was soon struggling to move and after having an ultrasound she discovered her breast implant had ruptured.
She has now launched a Facebook and Twitter campaign, and website justice4pipvictims.co.uk, calling for tighter regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry to prevent any similar scandals.
"I went for a spray tan one day and noticed my right breast was really swollen and almost the size of my head," said Vanessa, from Burnley, Lancs.
"The next day I set off for a jog and the pain was unbearable.
"It grew steadily worse and by the end of the week I couldn't lift my arm and was struggling to move about."
Vanessa, who now runs a promotions business, had implants to boost her from a B/C cup to a DD eight years ago.
But when the rupture in her implants was discovered, she found out that the company that put them in had gone into administration and had to have private treatment to have them removed last week.
Vanessa is now using her Facebook site to guide other women through this process and provide them with much needed support.
She wants the NHS to remove implants and provide free replacements to prevent women suffering from depression and self-image problems.
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| Pain ... faulty boob |
She said: "Thousands of women across the UK have had implants for a number of very good reasons, and by highlighting that this has happened to me I hope I can encourage them not to be scared or embarrassed but to fight for the help and support which they deserve."
Vanessa's campaign is being backed by a leading group of cosmetic surgeons who have stepped in to help and advise victims of the scandal.
Group spokesman Peter Paterson, consultant plastic surgeon of Sandon House Clinic in Preston, said: "There is so much fear and confusion around that we felt it was time to act to give women the facts about PIP as well as give them clear guidance as to what their options are."
