Former supermodel Linda Evangelista has been papped in a rare sighting in New York after revealing her botched plastic surgery left her "brutally disfigured"
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Linda Evangelista: Doctor on cosmetic procedure after lawsuit filed
Linda Evangelista has been spotted make-up free in New York after describing her 'heartbreak' over her botched plastic surgery.
The former supermodel, 57, had a fat freezing procedure known as cryotherapy, which she says left her "disfigured".
The mum-of-one claims the treatment 'increased' her fat cells, leading the Canadian to develop 'bulges' all over her body.
Since she had the surgery, the fashion icon has kept a low profile, but she was seen on Wednesday in the American city.
Donning an oversized denim jacket, dress and Birkenstocks, Linda appeared not be wearing a scrap of slap.
The model had scraped her hair into a bun and was sporting specs.
Linda Evangelista is rarely pictured now
Image:
( .Splash News)
The model claimed she was 'deformed' by her botched surgery
Image:
( Splash News)
Wearing her mask under her chin while clutching her phone, at one point she managed to crack a smile as she hailed a cab.
However, the woman who once famously claimed she wouldn't get out of bed for more than £10,000 has had little to laugh about of late.
Having been 'in hiding' for years, Linda finally went public about the side effects of her surgery on Instagram earlier this year.
She claimed the surgery ruined her career
Image:
( .Splash News)
Linda hasn't had much to smile about recently
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( .Splash News)
Breaking her silence, she said: "To my followers who have wondered why I have not been working while my peers' careers have been thriving, the reason is that I was brutally disfigured by Zeltiq's CoolSculpting procedure which did the opposite of what it promised,' she wrote at the time.
'It increased, not decreased, my fat cells and left me permanently deformed after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful corrective surgeries. I have been left, as the media described, "unrecognizable."
Speaking to People magazine in an interview months later, the former fashion icon said she 'stopped eating' when the growths started to appear on her chin, thighs, and bust, adding that she now 'dreads running into someone she knows'.
She was one of the world's most successful models
Image:
( Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The model famously claimed she wouldn't get out of bed for more than £10,000
Image:
( Getty Images)
However, after finding the courage to go public, she said she was 'done hiding' and posed for her first photoshoot since undergoing the procedure.
"I can't live like this anymore, in hiding and shame. I just couldn't live in this pain any longer. I'm willing to finally speak,' she told the outlet.
Linda told People that she had filed a lawsuit last September suing CoolSculpting's parent company, Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc, for $50 million in damages, claiming she had been unable to work since the procedure.
The model is suing after the procedure
Image:
( People Magazine)
A CoolSculpting representative told publication at the time: "The procedure has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications and more than 11 million treatments performed worldwide."
They added that rare side effects such as PAH "continue to be well-documented in the CoolSculpting information for patients and health care providers."
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