Adelaide nurse’s amazing transformation

ADELAIDE nurse Ziggy Smith spent $14,000 on cosmetic surgery and people can’t believe the incredible change in her looks.

Ziggy Smith looks like a different person after the weight loss and surgery. Picture: Facebook

LAST year, Adelaide nurse Ziggy Smith took control of her life.

The grandmother, who works in intensive care at Flinders Private Hospital, had gained a lot of weight after years of putting everyone else first.

“I hadn’t been looking after myself. I’d put on 20 kilos and I knew that I was getting sick and I knew that I was slowly killing myself,” she told Channel Nine’s Operation Thailand.

“One day I was at work and we were listening to some music that didn’t mean an awful lot to me because it was way before my time. And this client said to me, ‘Oh, you’ll remember that song, you’re in your mid-60s. That was about your time’.

Ziggy Smith before her impressive 20kg weight loss.

“I was horrified, and that was the pivotal moment when I realised this has to change.”

Ziggy embarked on a strict diet, and while it was successful, she was disappointed when the weight loss caused her skin to sag around her face.

The show follows her journey to Thailand for a neck and face lift — and the end results are nothing short of astonishing.

“I’ve been waiting 40 years to do my eyes,” she sobbed, revealing she’s always hated her heavily hooded eyelids.

“I’m really hoping that this surgery will make me look a bit more healthier (sic). Cosmetic surgery is not just about the way you look. It has a huge element related to the way you feel about who you are.”

Ziggy’s first few days post-surgery were rough, but she’s thrilled with the result.

Being an experienced nurse, she said she hunted high and low to find the right surgeon to complete the procedure.

“I’m taking it to the extreme,” she told her friend with a laugh.

“There’s nothing about Ziggy that’s not extreme,” her friend replied.

The first few days post surgery were rough.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” she said, but her mood lifted dramatically when she looked at herself in a mirror for the first time.

“I said, ‘Ooh, I have eyelids again!’,” she smiled.

There is still numbness in parts of her face which could be permanent, as well as five subtle scars that are yet to fade.

However, her confidence has skyrocketed.

The Adelaide grandmother estimates she looks 15 years younger.

“I think I look younger than I did 15 years ago,” she said.

“Probably the best thing has been the surgery’s impact on my self confidence. I didn’t want massive change, I just wanted to look a little bit fresher.

“Now, I feel happier in my own skin.”