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A model whose bottom came second in Brazil's Miss BumBum beauty contest has revealed the terrible harm plastic surgery wreaked on her body.

Andressa Urach, 27, spent a month in intensive care and feared she would lose her leg after fillers 'rotted' her muscles and had to be removed, triggering a life-threatening infection.

These photos show the shocking extent of the damage to one of the most controversial TV presenters in Brazil - a nation which has overtaken the U.S. to become the cosmetic surgery capital of the world.

Miss Urach, who once made hotly-contested claims that she slept with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, has reportedly undergone at least nine cosmetic procedures in the past five years.

They were said to have included a nose job, a bioplasty facial 'correction', jaw reduction, breast enlargement, liposuction and even vaginal lip reduction.

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Most important of all was her prized rear. It won her the runner-up title in the 2012 Miss BumBum contest, which aims to find Brazil's most attractive bottom.

She reportedly had injections of two filers, hydrogel and PMMA, to make it larger and more plump.

But in July she began complaining of discomfort and had 400ml of hydrogel drained from each of her upper thighs.

She told Brazil's R7 website at the time: 'The hydrogel was not absorbed by my body and started to harm me.

'Now I've discovered that the PMMA is sticking to my muscles and causing the tissue to rot. 

Despite the operation, she continued to be in pain and in November she was taken to the Conceicao Hospital in Porto Alegre with an advanced infection of her left leg.

She underwent two unsuccessful drainage procedures, according to reports, before suffering from septic shock and being moved to intensive care.

At one point her life was in danger and it was claimed her leg could have had to be amputated. 

Her mother Marisete De Favari logged in to her Twitter account, asking the model's 220,000 followers to pray for her as she remained on the ward in a serious state.

'I would ask for prayers from friends and people who wish for the recovery of my daughter,' she wrote on December 10.

'She's starting to walk, put her foot down and sit. After all this time lying down, she expected it would be painful. She has been taking morphine since entering the hospital, but now they are taking the drugs away from her gradually.

'As she had sepsis, healing will be slow, because it has to happen in a natural way so that it is not subject to a new infection.

'This takes time and she is assisted by doctors all the time. She has had no contact with anyone but the doctors and her mother.'

The model added on December 26: 'My loves, thank you for the affection and chains of prayers. God is great and is taking care of me.' 

Miss Urach hit headlines around the world after claiming she had had an affair with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, a claim the Real Madrid striker strenuously denied.

She said the footballer slept with her in a hotel just 48 hours before a Champions League semi final which his team lost 4-1 to German side Borussia Dortmund.

The Portuguese winger, 29, took to his Facebook page to say he was 'deeply outraged.'

He accused Andressa of 'pure fiction and forgery' and 'seeking the limelight on my account' and insisted he was at the Madrid hotel where she claimed they made love for a media interview. 

Brazil overtook the U.S. in 2013 to become the most prolific plastic surgery nation in the world.

Almost 1.5million procedures were performed in the South American country - an increase of 600,000 in just two years.

These included 226,000 breast enlargements and 64,000 buttock augmentations, a fifth of all those in the world.

Brazil has more than 5,000 plastic surgeons who also performed 78,000 facelifts, 77,000 nose jobs and 219 penis enlargements, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

But the U.S. was still far ahead for the number of non-surgical procedures, such as laser hair removal and chemical peels, with 2.5million to Brazil's 650,000.

Fellow Miss BumBum contestant Jessica Lopes, who shared a flat with Ms Urach, said last year: 'Andressa and I would go to the plastic surgeon as if we were going shopping.

'Sometimes we would agree to do some procedure together, we were not afraid.

'We were slaves to beauty.'