When Dinora Rodriguez, 40, went under the knife for a breast enhancement operation, what she got was something out of a horror movie, the Daily Mail reported.
Her surgeon cut across two "pockets" of breast tissue, which allowed the implants to touch at the middle and create the look of a single breast, or "uniboob."
Rodriguez described the horror of waking up to the botched surgery to MSNBC:
"My breasts looked really bad. It looked like I had one big breast instead of two. And the pain was terrible."
Even worse, the surgeon cut through nerves and muscle, resulting in shooting pains in her ribs.
Without her permission, the surgeon also performed a nip/tuck procedure to her eyelids, leaving Rodriguez with eyes that will never close all the way, and no possible surgery to fix them, ABC News reported.
Rodriguez, now featured in an advertising campaign by the American Board of Plastic Surgery to promote the dangers of using unqualified surgeons, sued her surgeon one year after the traumatic incident. Although she received enough to cover a reconstructive surgery, she said she still regrets not investigating the surgeon, she told ABC.com:
"My biggest mistake is that I didn't check any of her credentials. I found out later that she had done really bad surgeries on some other people too."
Malcolm Z Roth, President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) told the Daily Mailthat verifying a plastic surgeon is a member of the society is critical:
"There is a misconception among consumers that as long as a doctor is certified in a medical field that he or she is qualified to practice plastic surgery. This is absolutely wrong and it is dangerous for patients. If you are considering a plastic surgery procedure it is critical that your doctor is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This is the best way to be certain that he or she has completed the necessary training and meets certain standards to practice plastic surgery."
Watch the video above.