Elizaveta Tkachenko, a 30-year-old woman from Russia, wound up in the emergency room earlier this month, after getting unknown substances injected into her face by an unlicensed aesthetician.

Tkachenko, a resident of Stavropol, had decided that she wanted to enhance certain facial features with the help of cosmetic filler injections, only instead of going to a trained aesthetician, she turned to her friend Irina, an accountant, who did the procedures at home, for cheaper. Tvacheno, who would live to regret her decision, claims that her friend assured her that she only used quality fillers and sterile instruments, and that she had plenty of experience in this field.

The woman had an unknown quantity of filler injected into her lips and near her eyes, and although some swelling is considered normal after such procedures, in Elizaveta’s case it was so extreme that she had trouble breathing, her head would ache terribly and her lips looked ready to burst. A day after the botched injections, she had to be taken to the hospital.

Photo: Elizaveta Tkachenko

“My lip burst in two places, serosanguinous fluid got into my lip, my head hurt terribly,” Elizaveta told NTV.ru. “I am 30 years old, due to what happened, my health is ruined. It’s unclear what the aftermath of this will be in the future.”

The unlicensed aesthetician was questioned by Stavropol police and a criminal case has been opened against her. She wasn’t able what exactly she injected into Elizaveta’s face, but it is clear that whatever the substance was, it caused extreme inflammation and potentially irreparable damage. A report filed by investigators mentions that Irina lacked basic knowledge of medicine and was completely unfit to perform this sort of cosmetic injections.

 

Elizaveta has been discharged from the hospital, but her face still bears the marks of her horrific experience. She told reporters that she can’t even look at herself in the mirror right now, but that considering what she’s been through, she’s lucky to be alive. It’s unclear when or if her face will return to normal.