Zara Hartshorn, Prematurally Old 16-Year-Old, Has Facelift To Look Her Age

Zara Hartshorn, a 16-year-old from Rotherham, England, finally feels she looks her age after receiving a facelift. Hartshorn suffers from cutis laxa and lipodystrophy, a genetic disease which “causes layers of fatty tissue under the surface of the skin to disappear,” according to The Huffington Post.

There is no known cure for lipodystrophy, and the disease caused Hartshorn to appear much older than she was. She reportedly suffered instances of extreme bullying and embarrassment over the years, being called ‘granny’ by her classmates.

After going public with her disease in 2010, when she was just 13, Hartshorn was contacted by a U.S. plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Ersek, who offered to help. Dr. Ersek reportedly performed a facelift and a nose augmentation on the teenager free of charge.

Hartshorn, who stars in a television documentary airing in the U.K., says that the surgery has been life changing. “Growing up, I never thought this day would come. I thought I would be the same forever. I remember the unhappy little girl who was bullied and I want to go back and tell her it will all be all right. Now when I look in the mirror, I can see opportunities that weren’t there before… Before surgery, I was picked on for looking different. Now, I look the same as other girls my age,” Hartshorn told The Daily Mirror.

Hartshorn’s mother, Tracey Gibson, and older sister, Jolene Hardy, also suffer from the genetic disease.

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