Danniella Westbrook has revealed she is feeling "exhausted" and has "nothing left" as she continues her extensive facial reconstruction journey. The 52-year-old former EastEnders actress is preparing for her seventh surgery, which will involve doctors using parts of her ribs to reconstruct her face.
Westbrook shared her current state in an interview on Vanessa Feltz's YouTube show, "At Home With Vanessa." She explained that the current 18-month process aims to repair her face after struggling with a collapsed septum, a condition stemming from years of drug abuse. She has already undergone six operations and anticipates needing at least four more.
"I'm at that stage now where I come around from surgery with the last two and I've been like no more," Westbrook said. "I'm feeling okay. I just got a phone call today actually for my next surgery date in October."
She described the upcoming procedure, stating, "So that's when they redo, make this bit [points to her nose] skinny and pull it up and they put the ribs in the side and stuff and everything to support it [her nose]."
Westbrook expressed the physical and mental toll these surgeries have taken. "I trust my surgeon implicitly. I really do trust him. But I do feel like I'm 52. I put my body through enough and then putting your body through anesthetic and it's not short surgery. It's like five or six hours each time. And the recovery from that. I'm really feeling the recovery if I'm honest. I just feel absolutely exhausted."
Despite her fatigue, Westbrook is continuing with the procedures because they are medically necessary for her to breathe properly. "I've got all stitches in here and in my lips actually I can see under that nose there but I feel okay," she added.
Earlier this year, Westbrook had a full face, neck, and brow lift, along with lip and nose reconstruction, in Dubai. She has confirmed that future surgeries will include implanting a metal cheekbone due to bone loss from osteoporosis. "Since I got older the osteoporosis has set in on my bones. So on this side of my face, I don't have any bone at all," she explained. "So they've got to rebuild all my bones. At the moment it's filler, but they've really got to do a metal bone. It's got to be put in there."
Westbrook gained fame at 16 in EastEnders, but her contract was terminated due to her cocaine use, and she was written out in 1996. She has been open about her past struggles with addiction and its impact on her health and appearance.