What if cosmetic surgery goes wrong?

As the demand for cosmetic surgery has been increasing, so too has the cases of botched procedures. This is most likely since the regulations in place to monitor the cosmetic surgery industry is too relaxed. The problem is that some clinic are profiting from this at the expense of ethics and using doctors that are not adequately qualified. This sad reality is that this does occur, and the patients are only finding out that there is a problem when it is too late. Sure, the patient could sue, opt for other corrective procedures, but still, there could be emotional damage or physical harm caused that is in most cases not needed. Luckily, these cases of a failed cosmetic procedure are in the minority.

Still people that are interested in cosmetic surgery hopes that they will end up with perfect results. But there are always risks and complications. Take celebrities like Renee Zellweger, the star from Bridget Jones’ Diary. Her cosmetic surgery left her look like a completely different person, all since her brow lift changes her face. It is not that the change was that bad, but it make her look different. Another famous star that change his looks was Michael Jackson. He has several nose jobs, skin bleaching, face lifts, and an eye surgery that completely changes his looks. However, there were others like Jocelyn Wildenstein, aka the cat woman, or Justin Jedlica, also known as the Human Ken Doll, that are more known for their strange cosmetic surgeries than anything else.

In most cases the assumptions of what the results will be, are unrealistic. Proper psychological screening and counselling is needed. Here the expectations of the patient should be discussed in detail. True, if the procedure should fail the patients might feel stupid, guilty and embarrassed. Then again, if it is a success than those will be ecstatic. The point here is that people have different expectations and the risks for each person is different.

The risks of cosmetic procedures depends mostly on the type of procedure conducted. Breast augmentation attracts around 50 percent of the complaints. The problem is negligent or inexperienced surgeons doing gross asymmetry, or leaving patients scarred with nerve damage. With nose jobs, there is a fear of the nose collapsing or there could be indentations left due to poor surgery. For patients going for a face lift there is the risk that they might looked shocked, could develop an infection that could lead to necrosis, and where the skin could die, be left with black patches. To avoid such side effects, it is important that the patient approach a good surgeon and more so that the patient has realistic view of what to expect. In some cases the procedure will not lead to the results that patient wanted, irrespective of the amount of procedures that have been applied.

Rather talk to your surgeon and be open and honest about your feelings. Also demand the same from your doctor. The give yourself some time to reflect and be objective. Do not let emotions like anger interfere in your thinking.
If you had a procedure done and it was a blotched job, you could have it corrected. Ideally consult with the best doctor in your area about a second producer, as there might be different compilations involved.

Again, you need to be aware of the complications and risks involved in any type of surgery, and cosmetic procedures are surgery. The main complications refer to bad scarring, hematoma, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, damage to other organs seroma, and problems with anesthesia.

In addition to that, you should limit the amount of work done on your body. One procedure itself can be traumatic on your system, doing more than one would increase your risk. For instance, a 29-year-old businesswomen, Shiryl Saturnino, complete three surgeries together and died. She did a breast augmentation, liposuction procedure, and a buttocks enhancement.

What you can do is to dome some research about your doctor, making sure that he or she has a good reputation. But during your research, also gather some knowledge about the procedure and its risks and down times so that you can make an informed choice once you commit to the surgery.

Luckily, most cases are not severe. For instance, the chances of developing an infection after cosmetic surgery would be around 1 percent. But if you are the unlucky one that might develop an infection, the faster you inform the doctor, the less chance there will be for damage.

In additionally, in most cases the nerves might be damaged, but not cut. The nerves might just be compressed or bruised. Although the effects could be extreme pain and discomfort, it is only temporary and the nerves will heal.

In the end, there are four factors involved in cosmetic procedures. These four are the patient, the healthcare providers, the facilities, and the procedure itself. As mentioned having such procedures done can be a pure case of vanity in most, but also as a correction for areas that are causing psychological problems, and correcting them can boost your self-esteem. However, it should not be at the expensive of your health. Doctors should be able to indicate if there are deeper psychological problems and refer the patient to the correct medical specialist to deal with. More so, the facilities that are offering these type of cosmetic procedures should hire staff that are highly trained and able to deal with the procedures that they are offering. The greed and vanity combined is simply not a healthy mix and can lead to problems.

Still, most operators are trying their best to offer patients the best service, and it is only a few rouge operators out there that are scaring the name of the profession.

From Lara Flynn Boyle to Jackie Stallone have worked done, the results not so pretty. In the end, when you think about cosmetic surgery, think carefully and do your research well.