Cocktail waitress ‘left with one GIGANTIC breast after nipple piercing infection caused sepsis’
A WOMAN was left with one gigantic breast after her nipple piercing became infected, triggering life-threatening blood poisoning.
Nikki Belza, from Las Vegas, had her first boob job aged 21 and has since spent £18,000 on two further surgeries - taking her 32A chest to a whopping 32DDD.
But after accidentally ripping out her new nipple piercing earlier this year, months later Nikki woke in agony - despite the wound originally healing.
The pain in her left breast - which she initially put down to a pulled muscle - soon became unbearable and Nikki collapsed at work.
The 33-year-old was rushed to hospital as her temperature reached 40C - leaving her convinced she was going to die.
Nikki had developed Streptococcal A - an infection which she contracted from her husband, CJ, 45, who had been suffering from a sore throat just three weeks before.
The bacteria triggered a deadly form of blood poisoning – sepsis – which ravaged Nikki's breast tissue and led to surgeons removing her left boob implant entirely in a bid to save her life.
Nikki, a cocktail waitress, hopes to have a new implant within six months, but is currently concentrating on making a full recovery.
She said: "I was absolutely devastated to be left with only one boob, I am now completely flat chested on one side, but I know how lucky I am to be alive.
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"I can't believe having a simple procedure like a piercing can lead to a deadly infection like sepsis.
"My husband had had a sore throat and he passed the infection onto me, because of my recently infected nipple I was more prone to infection and my breast tissue became damaged.
"I woke up on my birthday with some tenderness under my left arm and when I got to work the pain became excruciating, I have never felt anything like it.
"When I woke up in the ICU I couldn't look at my chest, I was completely devastated but so thankful that I was alive.
She added: "Over the past nine weeks I have had a slow recovery as my immune system has been so weak, but I am nearly getting there and I can't wait to have new implants."
Nikki's body went into overdrive to try and fight the infection which then caused sepsis - but she insists on the outside, everything looked normal.
Doctors were left with no option but to remove my breast implant and all the remaining breast tissue, if they didn’t I could fall into a coma and more than likely die
Nikki Belza
Nikki said: "My breast didn't look abnormal, it was slightly swollen but inside is where the damage was being done.
"Doctors were left with no option but to remove my breast implant and all the remaining breast tissue, if they didn't I could fall into a coma and more than likely die.
"After 5 days in hospital I was sent home, but because my immune system is now so weak the Strep keeps coming back, the last nine weeks have been the worst time of my life.
She added: "Doctors reassured me that having breast implants was not related to contracting sepsis, but it's so important to know that sepsis can occur from any untreated infection."
What is sepsis?
- Sepsis is also known as blood poisoning or septicaemia
- It occurs when the immune system goes into overdrive as it fights an infection
- It reduces blood supply to vital organs
- It is life-threatening without quick treatment
- Early symptoms include a high or low body temperature, shivering, a fast heartbeat and fast breathing
Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: "Sepsis, or blood poisoning, is the reaction to an infection in which the body attacks its own organs and tissues and, if not spotted and treated quickly, it can rapidly cause organ failure and death.
"In its early stages, sepsis can look like a bad case of the flu. Symptoms might initially include a very sore throat, achy muscles and fatigue.
"Anyone with flu-like symptoms and one or more of the key signs of sepsis must present to healthcare immediately, either by calling an ambulance or going to an emergency department.
"With every hour that passes before the right antibiotics are administered, risk of death increases."