‘Lithuania facelift left me with lopsided mouth and hearing loss’

A woman who traveled to Lithuania for a face and neck lift to “feel younger” has expressed her regret after the procedure allegedly resulted in hearing loss and an “unstable” mouth, leaving her with a bill of more than £7,000 to fix it. Angela Paterson, 48, saved diligently for two years and spent more than £8,000 on a facelift, neck lift and upper eyelid surgery in Kaunas, which included flights, accommodation and pet grooming costs.

However, he claims that he suffered hearing loss after the surgery and that his mouth appeared “unbalanced”. Even 14 months after her recovery, Angela revealed she still has scars on her neck, a “bent eye” due to tight stitches, and permanent hearing loss in one ear. He is now preparing to fly to Türkiye next month to have his neck and eye repaired, and estimates surgery and travel costs will exceed £7,000.

Tattoo artist Angela, from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, admitted: “My confidence levels, my mental health, have hit rock bottom because of all this. It’s really traumatic.”

“I don’t go out anymore. I wanted to have this done to feel more confident, younger and better about myself.

“I had to look at myself and say, ‘I’m not happy with this.’ This seriously affected my mental health.”

Angela went to Kaunas in September 2024 and underwent facelift, neck lift and upper eyelid aesthetic surgery at the Nordesthetics Clinic. Having read positive reviews about the clinic and having previously had a successful surgery in Türkiye, the woman was under the impression that she was in safe hands.

He said: “I love Türkiye when it comes to surgery, but I heard very good things about Lithuania and the flight was only two and a half hours, so it felt a little easier after the surgery. I had no worries at that time. In my opinion, I was going to a reputable company.”

Angela claimed that she had difficulty hearing after the procedure and noticed that her mouth was not straight. “The right side of my mouth lifted up and the left side hung down,” he said.

He says he raised these concerns “the very next morning” after the operation, but the clinic claimed it had no documentation about it. He stayed in the Baltic country for another six days before returning home.

A month later, Angela reported to the clinic that her recovery was progressing “well” but highlighted the swelling around her jaw and the slurred speech caused by her asymmetrical mouth. He said the clinic reassured him that the problems were typical of the recovery phase.

He also expressed concern about a possible infection at the incision site, but was told the wound was not infected. Months later and still dealing with a visible scar under her chin that appeared when she spoke, Angela began to “really worry” about its lasting effects.

He also raised alarm because of a scar on his neck, a wrinkled eye that he said was caused by tight stitches, ongoing hearing loss in one ear and visible platysma bands. He added that his asymmetrical mouth had improved but was still visible when he spoke.

She continued: “I have lumps and bumps all over my neck. I have a big scar under my chin that is really noticeable when I talk. I was wearing a wig to cover the damage.”

Half a year after the procedure the clinic recommended revision surgery for the scars, costing £600. But he claims surgeons in the UK and Türkiye stated there was not enough skin for revision surgery and that they would instead need steroid injections and Co2 laser treatment costing a minimum of £3,000 per session.

She filed a formal complaint with the Lithuanian clinic in July 2025, but the clinic responded by saying she “provided no new evidence” to support her claims. The offer of another £600 revision surgery was extended three months later, but he claimed he could no longer afford the travel costs as his insurance had expired by then. Angela sought legal counsel but claims UK lawyers rejected her case because of the surgery taking place in Lithuania.

He explained: “When you investigate medical negligence abroad, there are a lot of lawyers, but when you phone them and say Lithuania, they say it’s outside our jurisdiction. Yes, I made the decision to go abroad.”

“I understand that and people will say it’s my decision. But the point I have to make to people is that a court in Lithuania will not represent you.

“It would be like that in Türkiye. I didn’t know this before I went out. [To fight the case] “I’ll have to pay thousands upon thousands up front to a Lithuanian lawyer, probably more than the surgery itself.”

In five weeks, he will fly to Türkiye to have surgery to repair his platysma bands, have temple surgery on his eye, and “fix” the scars and swelling on his neck. The operation itself carries a hefty price tag of £6,500, with additional costs of £443 for flights and £350 for pet care.

A representative from Nordesthetics said: “All patients, including Ms Paterson, are informed of the risks and possible complications before surgery and confirm in writing that they are aware of these risks. Post-operative scarring is one of the complications of which Ms Paterson was informed before surgery.

“This complication arises from the body’s response to the surgery and can be affected by different aspects of the patient’s physique that could not be determined before the surgery. Since the surgery performed on Ms. Paterson was in accordance with all medical standards, this complication is considered a risk of which the patient was informed in advance. She was also informed that she might potentially require scar correction surgery and the clinic offered this surgery after an appropriate wound healing period.”