A mum-of-four who twice fought cancer and was left scarred from the experience scooped a prize of a life-changing makeover last year.
And now, 15 months later Phyllis Samuels, 53, from Fairfield, Stockton-on-Tees, is in the throes of her makeover.
Phyllis was announced winner of the Dream Image North East competition last May – a campaign that was the brainchild of dentist Mike Heads and Paul Baguley, a consultant plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon.
And thanks to the daughter who nominated her, Phyllis Samuels is now taking advantage of her fabulous prize.
Knee replacement surgery hampered Phyllis in the first few months of the makeover as she had to concentrate on the rehabilitation process which prevented her from working out at the gym, implementing her weight loss programme and delayed the start of her dental and cosmetic treatments.
‘With the treatment I have received so far, it is already making a difference to my confidence and my life… It is transforming the way I think about myself and I can’t wait to see the final result. Even with my limited exercise regime due to knee replacement surgery, I have already dropped a dress size and now I am even more determined to keep up the good work.’
Mike Heads, the dentist responsible for Phyllis’s smile makeover, said: ‘The first part of Phyllis’s treatment was undertaken in September.
This was to adjust some of her teeth to stabilise how Phyllis bit together, without this the treatment she is undertaking could have failed or given her long-term jaw joint problems.
At the beginning of October, once her occlusion was stabilised, one of the old and failing upper bridges was removed and a new temporary one placed in preparation for the placement of some of the dental implants.
Towards the end of October, Phyllis underwent the first part of her dental surgery to place two conventional dental implants in her upper jaw. This went very well and Phyllis recovered very quickly from this procedure.
The next phase of treatment then had to be delayed slightly as Phyllis underwent her facial surgery with Paul Baguley.
Paul said: ‘Phyllis had two areas of scarring on her face that really bothered her. The surgery went very well and I was able to do some skin grafts that will really help to improve the look and feel of the scarring. Once the surgery has settled down I will be seeing Phyllis again.’
With everything Phyllis has had to contend with over the years, the elements of her makeover, though complex, should seem like a walk in the park and we look forward to seeing the results of her transformation in a few months time.
