I spent £1.1K on specialist surgery to make me look more awake on my wedding day – yes, my fiancé became a live-in nurse
A BRIDE-to-be on a quest to look picture perfect on her big day splurged a staggering £4,850 on her surgical makeover – and £1,100 of that was on specialist eye surgery.
Self-conscious Kayley Abbott, 36, flew from the UK to Lithuania to have a £3,250 nose job and £1,100 upper blepharoplasty surgery, where part of her eyelid skin was removed to banish her “hooded eyes”.
The beautician spent an extra £500 on flights and accommodation for her surgical holiday, but says it was “worth every penny”.
Now full of confidence, she can’t wait to tie the knot with fiancé, Simon Novakovic, 37, an operations director, in September this year.
“It sounds dramatic, but it really has changed my life,” Kayley, from Chesterfield, says. “It’s really changed how I feel about myself in such a positive way.
“Everyone I saw said ‘your eyes look insanely better, you look more awake and younger’. I was immediately happy as soon as the swelling subsided”.
She initially came across the surgery when her mum was looking into having the procedure, and then got a personalised quote from Fi Clinica in the eastern European country.
“I came across a Facebook page and told her about it years ago,” she adds. “I wasn’t born with sagging skin.
“I’ve tried Botox probably since I was 32 and it never helped.
“Over the last 18 months it’s worsened to the point it was affecting being able to wear mascara.
“It would just smudge and any makeup I put on my eyelids would just transfer and end up looking a mess really.
“I’m getting married later this year so I decided I wanted to do it for my wedding.”
Kayley said the bargain price “was a factor” as to why she chose to go abroad for her surgeries.
“I got a slight discount because I was having two-in-one,” she explained. “Normally you would pay £1,190 for your eyelid surgery and I paid £1,100.
“It’s been something that’s bothered me for a while now, so I just saved for it.”
Kayley stayed overnight at Fi Clinica in Kaunas and stayed in an apartment for a few days before and after her surgery, whilst she waited to be fit to fly home to the UK.
“Afterwards, I had stitches in my eyes with steri strips on – it was 11 days before the stitches came off,” she recalled.
“There was a bit of swelling, but it subsided quite quickly and I had no pain or discomfort.
“It can cause a bit of swelling on the inside of your eyelids, so I did have a bit of blurred vision.
“I had a follow-up with my surgeon in London 11 days after.
“That was a massive factor going abroad knowing I could have follow-up care in this country.”
Kayley’s fiancé, Simon, joined her on the trip to Lithuania for support, and she said he was “really positive and encouraged the whole thing”.
“He’s been very helpful, he’s been my live-in nurse,” she said.
“I just want to talk positively about it, there’s a lot of negativity and hate online towards women changing their appearance.
“I get it to a certain extent, but for me it’s not just vanity. Being able to wear make-up and stuff like that again and not have it smudge is amazing.”