The recent news of a British woman who died in a U.S. hotel after undergoing illegal butt-enhancing injections underscores the potential dangers associated with plastic surgery. She’s not the only one to have suffered serious health consequences after seeking cosmetic surgery. Another former patient, Penny Johnson, is suing her plastic surgeon for £54m (about $86m) after a facelift left her with pain and a facial twitch, allegedly curtailing her business career.
Though many wealthy patients assume they can avoid the dangers by opting for expensive doctors, this isn’t always the case. In one of the UK’s high-profile cases of cosmetic surgery gone wrong, Denise Hendry, the wife of football player Colin Hendry, nearly died after a botched liposuction procedure in 2002. Former miss Argentina Solange Magnano, 38, died in Buenos Aires after getting buttock implants.
Despite the risks, many patients don’t view cosmetic surgery “with the same caution and fear that they would another surgical procedure,” says medical negligence specialist Edwina Rawson. “People seem to be less willing to see the danger of having a tummy tuck compared to that of a stomach operation they need medically,” she said.
When plastic surgery goes wrong, the risks aren’t only cosmetic – patients could end up with disfigurements, from drooping eyelids to oddly-shaped breasts. Infection is also a risk, as with all surgical procedures. these dangers point to a need for better patient education about the risks involved.
Read more about the risks of plastic surgery: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/09/dangers-cosmetic-surgery