Mother has a £2,550 eyelid lift while awake
A mother-of-four has revealed how being mistaken for her children's grandmother led to her having her eyelids sliced open and stitched back together while she was awake.
Gabriella Lunghi, now 54, from Maidstone, Kent, became a mother again in her 40s to Alex, now 10, and Cristian, now eight, and knew she looked older than some of the other mothers at the school gate.
But she was mortified when she was mistaken for the children's grandma by a teacher and decided to take drastic action by having a £2,550 eyelid lift in May last year, which took 30 minutes.
Gabriella Lunghi, 54, from Maidstone, Kent, had a £2,500 eyelid lift while awake after being mistaken for her children's grandmother by a teacher
Gabriella had slithers of skin from her eyelids removed, while she was conscious, to make her look younger (pictured here in surgery in May 2016)
Gabriella two days before the £2,550 surgery she had in May 2016
After numbing the area with local anaesthetic, surgeon Amir Nakhdjevani made a cut above and below the eye and then inserted a stitched to pull the skin together, removing around 3cm of excess skin.
Gabriella added: 'I didn't have any pain at all during the operation even though I was awake the whole time. It was easier than going to the dentist - it was more painful to have my wisdom tooth out.
'I was quite bruised afterwards - it looked like I had eyeshadow on. I had to put cream on every day to keep my eyes moisturised and that was it.
'After two weeks, I could start wearing makeup again. The swelling went down and my eyes went back to normal.'
A surgeon lifting one of Gabriella's eyelids, prior surgery, to check how much skin needs to be removed
A surgeon marks where to cut Gabriella's eyelids, prior to her surgery
A surgeon measures his patient's eyelids before deciding how much skin to remove
Gabriella pictured with bruised eyelids, two days after she had the procedure under local anaesthetic
Gabriella, who also has two grown up daughters, Marianna, 22, and Elisa, 21, by her previous husband, said: 'I had two children when I was quite old.
'When my youngest child started school, someone thought I was his grandma and I was shocked.
'My little one was a bit upset about it and it was hard to explain it. I thought I looked good for my age.'
The professional singer tried to push the upsetting incident to the back of her mind, but four years ago, she began fretting that the skin around her eyes was getting even worse.
Gabriella, 54, with her husband Andrea, 45, who helped her to pay for the procedure as he knew it was affecting her confidence
Gabriella became self conscious after she was mistaken for her son Cristian's gran
The mother-of-four with her two youngest children Alex (front) and Christian (right)
Gabriella with her daughter Elisa, one of her older children
She desperately searched YouTube for make-up solutions, but they ended up making her feel even worse.
'I couldn't do my make up properly and I actually looked better without it, because there was just a tent of skin there,' Gabriella explained.
Her low self-confidence even led to her giving up working as a singer and presenter on stage, instead switching to administration jobs through an agency.
After finding information about eye lift surgery online, Gabriella started saving the thousands she needed to completely reshape her eyelids.
Gabriella wasn't allowed to wear eye-make up for a couple of weeks following her operation
Gabriella recovering after the £2,550 surgery, which she insists wasn't painful
Following surgery Gabriella has now been mistaken for being her daughter Marianna's older sister
And with a little help from graphic designer husband Andrea Rispoli, 45, she was soon able to book an appointment.
'I was trying to save up, but my husband helped me out, because he knew how much I wanted it,' she added.
WHAT IS AN EYELID LIFT? As we age, skin loses its elasticity and muscles start to go slack, resulting in loose skin which collects in folds on the upper lids and in creases under the lower lids. and forms deepening creases in the lower lids. Blepharoplasty removes the skin and excess fat to produce a smoother appearance. The procedure can be carried out under either local or general anaesthetic.
'I felt a bit of pressure because he is nine years younger than me. It's not that he doesn't love me, but with the age gap, I was feeling more and more self-conscious.'
Within weeks of her surgery, Gabriella felt more confident and happier with her looks – especially as there were no visible signs that she'd had surgery.
She said: 'It was worth every penny. I am so happy with it. Now I have massive eyes again and I can do whatever I want with the makeup.
'You wouldn't even know I've had it done. You can't see any lines or scars. People have said I look younger but don't notice why exactly. It's very subtle.'
Her new found confidence also helped her lose one-and-a-half-stone through Weight Watchers.
And last New Year, she even got back up on the stage hosting and singing at an event in a hotel near Rome.
Gabriella performing on stage with Silvano Natoli, who she's been working with, on and off, for around 20 years
How Gabriella looks following the surgery she had in May 2016
Gabriella's eyes healing from surgery: She said that apart from a little bruising it was a painless recovery
She explained: 'I gave up performing, because I was worried I didn't look right any more, but now I feel much more confident and did my first show again on New Year's Eve.
'It was amazing being able to do it without worrying that everyone was looking at me for the wrong reasons.
'I'm back to a size 10 now as well, so I feel like I'm the woman my husband met 16 years ago. I look like I'm in my 40s again.
The mother-of four before her surgery. She was so conscious about her appearance she even gave up her job as a singer as she didn't want to appear on stage
Gabriella trying out new eye shadows, a few weeks after her operation
Cosmetic surgeon Amir Nakhdjevani who carried out Gabriella's eye lift
'I don't think you need to go over the top with cosmetic surgery, but if it is something that really bothers you and you can change it, then you should.
'I don't want to get anything else done, because I am perfectly happy with what I look like for my age now.
'Now I would never get mistaken for their grandma. In fact, sometimes I'm even mistaken for my daughters' sister.'