S.I. Mom Says Plastic Surgeon Gave Her Four Breasts

A Staten Island mother has filed a $5 million lawsuit against a plastic surgeon who she claims botched her breast implant surgery, leaving her with a disfigured chest that ruined her marriage. According to her attorney, surgery that was supposed to give 47-year-old Maria Alaimo 36 C cups resulted in painful "double-bubble" deformities, meaning she "came out of that operation with essentially four breasts."

According to the Staten Island Advance, Alaimo is suing Dr. Keith Berman, his staff, as well as medical websites that referred her to him. The paper notes that Alaimo paid $2,999 and $500 referral fee for the procedure in 2003, but her breasts now "appear flattened on the bottom with severe swells the size of a softball on top." In court documents, Alaimo claims those disfigurements caused "pain ... disability, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and embarrassment." She also alleges the surgery lead to her divorce, because she wouldn't allow her husband to see her nude after the procedure.

According to her attorney, the surgeon didn't make "crucial" markings on the patient's chest before the surgery, though the doctor indicated he did on medical documents. After the surgery, Alaimo underwent two corrective procedures—the first with the original doctor—and she purportedly suffered more scarring and "implants that slid downward, making her breasts appear even further deformed." The doctor's attorney, Jerry Giardina, said Alaimo should have been more aware of the risks of plastic surgery before she went under the knife. "Plastic surgery is trivialized, but the reality is that plastic surgery is just that—surgery. There are no guarantees. What one person responds to, another does not."