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GREENSBORO - A local woman says she has had to put her plans to start a family on hold while dealing with complications from a cosmetic procedure at Altmed of the Triad.

Shirleen Sifford, 38, of Greensboro recently won a more than $500,000 civil lawsuit against the alternative medicine spa.

She says she suffered a serious blood infection in May 2007 after going to Altmed for a procedure to reduce fat in her abdomen. She's now taking steroid shots to deal with the complications, preventing her and her husband from starting a family, Sifford said.

Sifford never complained to the Guilford County Health Department about her situation. But several patients did, according to director Merle Green.

Three women complained in December 2007 that they developed acute kidney failure within days of receiving buttocks-enhancing injections at Altmed. The health department has never discovered what was in the injections, Green said.

Those complaints launched an investigation that led to felony charges against owner-operator Lauretta Cheek of Greensboro. Cheek's criminal case remains pending.

Cheek could not be reached for comment.

Cheek never showed up in court on Sifford's civil case, said Kurt Aktug, Sifford's attorney. So, the judge issued a default judgment in Sifford's favor.

The judgment included $5,200 to cover medical expenses and about $3,500 for lost wages. Sifford says she was unable to work for about a month because she had a hard time concentrating. She is an auditor for United Healthcare and works part time at Bank of America.

"I have to pretty much be on point when it comes to dealing with someone else's money," she said.

She went to Altmed because she wanted to lose weight in preparation for having a baby.

She received 100 injections at a time in three visits to the spa, said Sifford, who has experienced acupuncture and other alternative medicine in the past.

After the third visit, she felt nauseated and feverish. The next day she went to the emergency room where doctors told her she had a serious blood infection.

"I'm usually a tough cookie," Sifford said. But she said when doctors touched her stomach that day, "I would cry like a baby."

Her stomach remains marked today with scars and small nodules under the skin that she has to have removed by a dermatologist.

The procedure didn't work, Sifford says. She ended up gaining weight because of the medicine she needed to take to correct the problems caused by the cosmetic procedure.

But Sifford still swears by alternative medicine. She says she'll just be more careful and look at credentials before she chooses where to go.

"This won't deter me," she said.

Meanwhile, Aktug is pursuing legal options to recover the money from Altmed.

The company's phone number has been disconnected.

 Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com