Linda Evangelista, the supermodel who rose to fame in the 1990s, described herself as "brutally disfigured" and "unrecognisable" following a cosmetic body-sculpting procedure that drove her into a recluse.
She mentioned filing a lawsuit in an Instagram post on Wednesday, saying she was “taking a huge step towards righting an injustice that I have experienced and kept to myself for over five years.”
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Evangelista, 56, claimed she suffered paradoxical adipose hyperplasia, a side effect in which patients acquire hard tissue lumps in the treatment regions, after the fat-freezing operation.
She said that the cosmetic operation left her "permanently disfigured" after two painful, failed corrective surgeries.
“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing,” she wrote.
Evangelista, who was once considered one of the top five supermodels in the 1990s, shared her experience on her Instagram account, which has 912,000 followers.
In the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Evangelista filed a complaint against Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. on Tuesday. She was demanding $50 million in compensatory damages for her distress, suffering and loss of work, promotions and public appearances; according to the lawsuit.
However, the company did not respond to the Evangelista accusations.
Evangelista experienced melancholy and a dread of going outside, according to the lawsuit, which claims the firm "intentionally concealed" the problems or "failed to appropriately warn" about them.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved CoolSculpting's technique for the treatment of noticeable fat bulges, according to the company.
In response to queries, the FDA stated in an email that it was “committed to ensuring medical devices are safe and effective, and that patients may be fully informed when making personal health decisions.” It stated that it checks complaints of adverse occurrences from customers after a product is released to the market and would "take action when necessary."