What Can Go Wrong During Cosmetic Surgery?
Unfortunately many cosmetic surgeons downplay the risks of liposuction and other procedures. It is even quite difficult to find much information regarding what can go wrong during and after the procedure from specialist Internet sites. The fact is, that every medical or cosmetic surgery procedure does carry with it some measure of risk.
Depending on whose statistics you use, there is an average of 1% to 4% of patients who will have either some sort of problem or a negative outcome. Now that may not sound very many, but when you consider 1% of 14 million procedures you have 140,000 very unhappy patients, and this is at the low end of the scale. If you go with the suggested 4% of unhappy patients, then this means that well over half a million people in the United States alone, have had problems or are unhappy with their cosmetic surgical procedure, including liposuction. Now this figure commands attention.
Do not turn your face or body over to a surgeon who doesn’t discuss, at length, all the risks involved with the cosmetic procedure you are interested in!
To give you an idea of just what can go wrong, we are going to list the most common cosmetic procedures and their accompanying complications:
Liposuction
• Fat embolus; Blood clot in the leg; Irregularities – dimples, puckers and divots; Discolouration; Burning and tingling; Fluid collection or “Seroma” under the skin.
Abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck”
• Skin death, or “necrosis”; Infection; Hematoma; Seroma; “Dog Ears”.
Blepharoplasty or “eyelid tuck”
• Blindness; Blurred vision; Dry eye syndrome; Inability to close your eyes; Corneal abrasion; Hollow or sunken eyes.
Brachioplasty or “arm lift”
• Scars.
Botox or “Botulinum Toxin A”
• Very few short term problems have arisen.
Breast Augmentation or “Breast implants or enlargement”
• Capsular contracture; Interferes with mammography; Implant displacement; Saline implant deflation; Silicone implant rupture; Rippling; Infection; Nipple numbness – risk is 15%.
Mastopexy or “Breast lift”
• Scars.
Brow lift
• Forehead paralysis; Brow asymmetry; Permanent loss of hair; Numbness of the forehead; Early relapse; The surprised look; High hairline.
Rhytidectomy or “Facelift”
• Hematoma; Skin death; Facial weakness or paralysis; Attached earlobe (pixie ear); Open ear canal.
Chin or Cheek Augmentation
• Hematoma or Seroma; Sensory changes; Infection; Asymmetry; Implant displacement; Bone erosion; Detection of the implant through your skin; Extrusion of implant; Need for further surgery; Witch’s chin; Button chin.
Lip Augmentation
• Cold sore outbreak; Extrusion; Infection; Re-absorption.
Rhinoplasty or “nose surgery”
• Bleeding; Sinusitis; Nasal obstruction; Undesirable appearance.
I think, this will get you thinking and considering your options carefully…
