A pensioner says a botched operation means he hasn’t been able to sleep a wink for almost three years.

Pete Broadhurst, 79, from Four Oaks, Birmingham, spent £11,000 on a cosmetic procedure to fix his ‘puffy cheeks’ in 2019 after feeling insecure due to broken relationships.

But, even after corrective surgery, his left eye is still permanently open, which he says causes him constant problems.

Pete has to tape his eyes shut when he sleeps and use drops eight times a day to prevent them from drying out.

He says he looks “scary” because his eyes stay open even when he wants to close them – and claims his appearance has cost him relationships.

The pensioner, who has undergone revision surgery (seen) and is facing more, says he is still not able to close his eyes properly

Pete, pictured after his first surgery in 2019, says he has to tape his eyes shut when he sleeps and use drops eight times a day to keep them from drying out

Pete’s problem began in 1959, when he had dental surgery that left him with enlarged cheeks.

He said: “I had puffy hamster cheeks. Years ago, I was in a relationship with a girl and we had two children and she left me.

‘I said, ‘why are you leaving when we have everything? Look how lucky we are. And she said, ‘go look at yourself in the mirror, that’s why I’m leaving’.”

After two more relationships where his insecurities about his appearance grew, Pete decided he wanted corrective surgery.

Thus, the father of two children decided at the end of 2018 to undergo an intervention.

He contacted BMI The Priory Hospital, who offered him £11,000 to undergo a neck lift, blepharoplasty under his eyes and rhinoplasty which would help reduce his cheeks.

And, on January 24, 2019, he underwent the nine-hour procedure and was released the next day.

The retired painter and decorator paid £11,000 for a neck lift, under-eye blepharoplasty and rhinoplasty, pictured here after the operation

Pete had many problems after the operation: in addition to eye problems, he vomited and had trouble urinating.

Pete said: “I looked like I got beat up. It was horrible and I couldn’t close my eyes.

“I was sick all night and in my sleep. The day after the operation, I wish I had never been there.

Pete claims he was vomiting and couldn’t urinate, but he just took them as normal after effects of the surgery.

The following Monday, after leaving the hospital, Pete had a catheter placed, initially thinking it was related to his prostate.

But he now believes his problems with urinating were due to the fact that he had spent a long period under general anesthesia during which he could not go to the toilet.

He returned to the hospital two weeks after the operation to remove the stitches and told doctors his eyes were very itchy and watery.

But Pete claims they told him everything was normal and that these side effects would pass on their own.

Pete said after the operation (pictured) he looked like he had been beaten He says it was ‘awful’ and he couldn’t close his eyes

The pensioner, seen after his 9am operation, says when he returned to the hospital to have his stitches removed he was told his eye irritation was normal and would pass naturally

Because his left eye was left permanently open after the operation, Pete now has to tape his eyes shut to sleep – seen here trying to take a nap

He then went to Good Hope Hospital on March 23, 2019 to have a routine prostate exam.

But the doctor noticed his damaged eyes – and he was referred to the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.

There, they told him that his eyes didn’t close completely when he blinked or slept, causing him irritation – a common complication of eyelid surgery called ectropion.

However, doctors there could not treat him as he had undergone the initial surgery in private, so he returned to BMI.

Her surgeon arranged free corrective surgery at BHI Parkside for a skin graft to help the skin on her cheeks meet her eyelids.

He underwent the one-hour operation on May 13, 2019.

But, more than two years later, Pete says he still can’t fully close his left eye – and the right is fully closed.

He said: “My eyes were distorted, I could barely see. She lifted my left eyelid and my right eye had a blink in the corner. It never got better again.

“I couldn’t see and at night I still had to tape it shut.”

Although NHS doctors acknowledged the damage to Pete’s eyes, he says that because he had had the initial operation privately he had to return to the private hospital for corrective surgery.

He also suffered from poor vision as a result of the operation and can no longer drive or distinguish people’s facial expressions.

Pete, a retired painter and decorator, is speaking out now to warn others of the dangers of surgery.

He said: ‘Getting on the bus one day, a man said, ‘My God, what happened to your face?

“I was already feeling depressed, it just made it worse. Now I only worry about the comfort of my eyes.

‘It went beyond my looks. I just want relief. I want to tell others to be careful because it can ruin your life.

Pete was prescribed eye drops eight times a day and told to put a towel in the microwave to wrap around his eyes while he slept.

His vision is now so poor that he cannot drive a car or distinguish people’s facial expressions, and has had to give up his shooting hobby as he cannot see the target.

All private hospitals have since refused to carry out any further surgery as it could worsen his vision problems, and the NHS has a one-year waiting list.

It meant Pete felt compelled to move abroad, which resulted in a £7,000 lower eyelid blepharoplasty at Mono Clinic in Turkey.

He saw the surgery advertised in the paper as where Katie Price is going, and is due to return later this year for a follow-up procedure.

Pete said: “My left eye is still open today. Whoever you trust, even a top surgeon, be careful because it can ruin your life.

A BMI Healthcare spokesperson said: ‘We cannot comment on the specifics of individual cases, but we are committed to the highest standards of patient safety and quality of care and are thoroughly investigating that question.

“The surgeon in question is currently suspended as we reflect a suspension of trust from the NHS.”

Lindsey Sharp of BHI Parkside said: ‘BHI does not provide healthcare. It provides space for the NHS, private consultants and other healthcare professionals to undertake services they are qualified to provide.

The surgeon who performed Pete’s operation at BHI Parkside declined to comment as she cannot share confidential patient information.

Pete is due to travel to Turkey for further surgery later this year. He has already undergone private surgery there, in addition to the free corrective surgery he underwent in the UK.

The pensioner says he now wants to warn people to be careful when choosing to have cosmetic surgery and to be aware that there are always risks