Plastic Surgery Remorse Linked to Deeper Issues

Sept. 1, 2010 -- Reality starlet Heidi Montag turned more than a few heads when she recently told Life & Style magazine that she was unhappy with the breast augmentation surgery she had back in January that turned her into a G-cup.

"I'm obsessed with fitness but it's impossible to work out with these boobs," she told the magazine. "It's heartbreaking. I can't live an everyday life. I feel trapped in my own body."

She's now reportedly looking for a surgeon who will reduce the size of her breasts.

Celebrities aren't the only ones with buyer's remorse over plastic surgery. Laura Pillarella knows that very well. The 40-year-old author, personal trainer, massage therapist and yoga instructor underwent 15 plastic surgeries on her face at a cost of more than $60,000.

She had her first procedure -- the removal of the bags under her eyes -- when she was just 25.

"To me, that was such a clichéd marker of age," Pillarella said.

After that surgery, she continued with reconstruction for about the next 15 years, having around one procedure done a year.

She blames her obsession with her looks on an unhappy, neglected childhood, and her belief that the only way to feel loved and get attention was to be beautiful.

"When I first saw the bags under my eyes, I panicked. I thought I would be invisible. I thought I would die."

Regret over her multiple surgeries hit Pillarella after second chin implant. She still wasn't satisfied with her face, and went to another surgeon, who told her she "looked like a freak."

Though she went through a period of depression and felt suicidal after hearing that from a doctor, she finally realized he was right, and she embarked on a crusade to learn how to feel better about herself. Because she said some of the previous surgeries were botched, she underwent a deep facelift to repair the damage.

Since then, she's lived with a lot of regret over everything she did to her face.