A disfigured dad who felt like “the elephant man” is looking forward to celebrating Christmas properly after a facial transformation.
Alan Findlay developed rare skin condition rhinophyma, which affected his nose and left him hiding away for years.
The 56-year-old's condition got so bad last year he didn't even go to his stepson's Christmas Day gathering and instead stayed at home on his own.
The proud family man has always suffered with common skin condition rosacea which causes flushing and visible blood vessels on the face.
But it occasionally develops into the more severe rhinophyma meaning his skin thickens and the sebaceous glands become enlarged.
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Alan's case was severe but NHS skin specialists were unwilling to do anything about it.
Instead, he was told he'd need to go under the knife and recovery could take six months.
And that treatment was only generally done if it affected his breathing.
Alan then turned to laser treatment at the Ever clinic in Glasgow and says he has been “reintroduced to the human race again”.
He told the Daily Record: “It is an amazing transformation.
“When you compare the before and after, it is absolutely life changing for me.”
Alan, who works for a lighting company, said he started to notice a difference on his nose from 2018 with creases suddenly appearing.
He went to his GP and was referred to a dermatologist and then a plastic surgeon but he was told it would be a difficult procedure on a long waiting list and he required lots of time off work.
During the pandemic his condition got worse but he wasn't able to see his doctor due to Covid restrictions.
Alan had no choice but to apply steroids he had for his rosacea but they had little impact.
He said: “I knew I looked terrible because people were mentioning it. My social life became poor, I wasn’t really going out. I just didn’t feel confident.
“In my head I felt I was a bit like the elephant man. I more or less cut myself off.”
Alan said the way he looked had a real impact on his mental health.
He said: “I am not going to lie, it did affect me but it was still a struggle for my wife Rowan to get me to go to the Ever clinic.”
Alan, from Dumbarton, continued: “At Christmas last year I was particularly low.
“We generally go to my step-son’s on Christmas Day. I felt so self conscious I didn’t want to go. I just stayed home by myself.
“After the holidays there was a family conspiracy to get something done.”
Rowan, 58, searched the internet and found Ever which specialises in treating rhinophyma with lasers.
Dr Cormac Convery, who carried out the procedures, said Alan was “almost certainly the worst example we have seen”.
His condition was so bad the laser treatment had to be done in two sessions rather than just one and the doctor was unsure how good the result would be.
The first procedure was carried out in March, lasting around five hours, and the second two months later took a further two and a half hours.
Alan admitted: “When the procedure was over on the first day I looked in the mirror and I looked as if I had been dooking for chips.
“My nose looked red raw but, as horrendous as that sounds, I felt better immediately. I felt more confident right away.”
He only needed to take a week off work to give it a chance to heal.
Alan continued: “Between March and May the scabs started to fall off and I could see the shape of my nose starting to come back.
“May was more of a tidying up exercise, shaping the nose. It is now back to where it was prior to 2018.”
He added: “I know it sounds trite but they have given me my life back.
“Christmas will be different this year, I have so much more confidence. I will be going out socialising.
“I am actually tired from going out, I have been making up for lost time.
“Last year I just wanted to hide away.”
