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Woman Hopes Aventura Doc Can Fix Botched Cosmetic Procedure

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A woman from Texas whose face was left disfigured after a botched cosmetic procedure hopes a South Florida doctor can repair the damage.

For months Sara Rogers has been in hiding, cutting off ties to her family, friends and even her job.

"I don't want to be out in public because not only does it look bad, but it feels awful. It hurts all the time," said Rogers.

Her face has deep scarring from a regrettable trip to a home spa in Dallas where she had fillers injected to make her look younger. Within a month, however, her face became infected.

"After that, it just kept getting bigger and my face just kept swelling up," said Rogers. "It hurts to eat. I get constant headaches."

Rogers said she contacted several corrective plastic surgeons, but no one wanted to take on the task of repairing her face. That was until she found Dr. Alberto Gallerani of Aventura.

"It's very inflamed, cutting through, eating through her skin," said Dr. Gallerani after examining Roger's face. "It's eating through the flesh of her face and she will lose her face."

Dr. Gallerani said he doesn't know what was injected into her face. He said it's a prime example of the dangers of getting fillers from the wrong doctors or spas.

"I applaud her for coming forward and sharing her experience so that others hopefully will not have to through what she is going through," said Dr. Gallerani.

"I've seen people die over the same bad decisions that I made. I feel like I'm just lucky to be alive," said Rogers.

Dr. Gallerani said the corrective process will not be quick or easy and good results are not guaranteed. He said two to three weeks after surgery, the swelling should start to go down. After six months, they will be able to tell if the scar tissue is softening which will give Rogers a more natural appearance.

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