A once successful Croydon businesswoman is trying to claim £54m In compensation after a cosmetic surgery procedure went horribly wrong.

Penny Johnson, 49, was left with severe nerve damage to her cheek and eye after a botched operation, her lawyers claim.

Mrs Johnson was a director of a successful financial and IT consultancy until the operation left her with twitches and facial spasms.

The High Court in London heard she is suing Leeds-based cosmetic surgeon, Dr Le Roux Fourie, for £54m in damages.

Mrs Johnson's lawyer, Lawrence West QC, told the court she was a director of Croydon-based company Bishop Cavanagh Ltd and had secured contracts with technology-giant IBM, top accountancy firm Deloittes and banks in the Middle East.

But he said the operation in August 2003 left her with nerve damage to the right-side of her face and she now endures "uncontrollable facial movement, pain around the right eye and grimacing", which would probably continue for the rest of her life.

Mr West claimed that the twitching had made it impossible to carry out the face-to-face meetings.

The company, which Mrs Johnson had run alongside her husband, had suffered as a consequence and was eventually taken over in 2009.

He said if the company had continued its successful path, Mrs Johnson could have expected earnings estimated at £600,000-a-year.

Mr West added that the case was due to come to court earlier but had been delayed because, in 2008, Mrs Johnson still found it too stressful to talk to lawyers about the problems she has suffered.

At a preliminary hearing, Mr Justice Eady told the court that, whilst negligence is admitted, Dr Fourie's lawyers dispute that it caused Mrs Johnson's financial losses and the amount of compensation due to her.

Alain Choo-Chou QC, for Dr Fourie, said her business problems could have been caused by a number of other factors, including the general financial downturn, and the surgeon should not be held liable for the huge losses Mrs Johnson claims to have suffered.

He told the court Dr Fourie's insurance indemnity only goes up to £10m, and Mrs Johnson's legal costs bills were already estimated to have reached £3m.