Bad plastic surgeryis something we can’t necessarily define it, but we know it when we see it.
Common complications following plastic surgery include infection, skinnecrosis, wound separation, fluid collections orabscesses, andblood clots.
We’ve all seen the pictures of celebrities who have taken the “pursuit of perfection” a step or two too far. We’ve watched as everyday people have become celebrities for no other reason than their outrageous plastic surgery exploits. We’ve read the news stories about those who have given their lives in exchange for a chance at a more svelte physique. Chances are that you may even know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who has lived a plastic surgery nightmare.
Obviously, when a life is lost, something has gone horribly wrong. When the tip of a patient’s new nose turns black and falls off, something has gone horribly wrong. When a patient is left with permanent, debilitating pain or paralysis, something has gone horribly wrong. But what about the sheer aesthetics of it all? Beauty is subjective. So what sets apart “different strokes for different folks” from plastic surgery that has truly gone wrong?
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In the Eye of the Beholder
While we may look at an over-tightened facelift and think it’s strange and even a bit tragic, the person with that wind-swept face may feel 20 years younger. And while many ethical plastic surgeons will turn away a patient who is asking for something that the surgeon feels is not in his or her best interest, there will always be another surgeon who will do it.
Who’s to say, after all, how smooth is too smooth, and how tight is too tight? Of course, you’ve heard the saying, “You can never be too rich or too thin.” Should the saying be extended to include too smooth, too tight, too firm, and too busty?
More Than Skin-Deep
While bad aesthetic outcomes are certainly a great concern, there are larger issues at stake as well. Common complications following plastic surgery include infection,necrosis, wound separation, fluid collections orabscesses, andblood clots.When recognized right away, many of these problems can be successfully treated. However, these and other problems can also become much more serious.
When plastic surgery goesreallywrong, the result can be permanent pain, disfigurement due to severe scarring or asymmetry, paralysis, or even death. It’s a sad fact that people do lose their lives every day as a result of something going wrong during or after surgery, and plastic surgery is no exception.
However, it is helpful to understand that death rates in plastic surgery are relatively low compared to death rates in surgery overall. This is due in large part to the fact that plastic surgery is elective and most surgeons will refuse to operate on a patient they feel is a poor (high-risk) candidate. Nonetheless, the worst-case scenario does happen.
Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong: One Patient’s Story
The Truth About “Non-Invasive” Procedures
Regardless of marketing hype, serious (even life-threatening) complications are not limited to actual surgical procedures. Cosmetic treatments touted as minimally invasive or even non-invasive can go wrong as well.
Common Complication or Botch Job?
Besides the subjective nature of beauty, there are other things to consider before labeling a surgical procedure as “botched.” An unsatisfactory result does not necessarily mean that your surgeon did anything wrong. For instance, let’s look at a common complication likecapsular contractureafter breast augmentation. While it can be painful and is certainly not the ideal aesthetic result, it is not a result of bad surgical technique or any problem occurring during surgery. It happens as a result of the body’s own natural defenses against foreign bodies (in this case, the implants).
Don’t Become a Statistic
1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Khunger N.Complications in cosmetic surgery: a time to reflect and review and not sweep them under the carpet.J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2015;8(4):189-90. doi:10.4103/0974-2077.172188
1 Source
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Khunger N.Complications in cosmetic surgery: a time to reflect and review and not sweep them under the carpet.J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2015;8(4):189-90. doi:10.4103/0974-2077.172188
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Khunger N.Complications in cosmetic surgery: a time to reflect and review and not sweep them under the carpet.J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2015;8(4):189-90. doi:10.4103/0974-2077.172188
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