When Plastic Surgery Goes Wrong
The last thing a patient wants to hear or feel after having an expensive cosmetic procedure is that the plastic surgery goes wrong or they could die because of it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to one patient recently after her breast augmentation surgery, and she’s not the only one. It happens all too often. Complications, some of them extremely serious, are happening all too often and it’s all because of doctors performing the procedures they are not suitably qualified to perform.
An article published on www.news.com.au earlier today tells the story of a Sydney woman who was admitted to hospital with a severe infection in her implant and was told she needed her breast implant removed immediately or she could die after only having had her breast augmentation procedure a few days prior to the dire complication.
The patient says she knew something was wrong with her implants as soon as she woke up after the initial breast augmentation surgery, and says she wasn’t happy with the size or proportion of her breasts as well as being concerned with the initial warning signs of an infection such as fever and severe pain but when she expressed her concerns to her doctor, he simply brushed her off and gave her a dose of antibiotics. Days later she was knocking on death’s door. While this patient thought she had employed a cosmetic surgeon to perform her breast augmentation, she later became aware he was only qualified as a GP. He had performed the surgery in his clinic under “twilight sedation”. But how does one know who is qualified, what do all those qualifications mean?
There seems to be quite a few warnings in the media. In fact there’s been so many warnings, are patient’s safe? This is a question we seem to be asking all too often. We asked Dr Rohit Kumar, one of Australia’s most prominent Australian Plastic Surgeons to answer that for us. “That remains the seminal question for any patient considering having plastic surgery. We advocate very strongly that patients do their research and choose a practitioner not on price, not on slick websites, and not necessarily on non-neutral review sites as well, which is an important one that’s starting to come under focus the last few months. Rather they should have a few benchmarks, and they are:
1) Choose a surgeon who is an Australian qualified and approved plastic and reconstructive surgeon. You can check this by confirming their membership on the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) or the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) website. They can confirm that they are a qualified specialist in plastic surgery and not just a general practitioner etc. by looking up the AHPRA website.
2) When they see the surgeon they need to feel they are comfortable with that surgeon, their concerns are addressed, and that they are listened to.”
We can’t tell you too many times to check whether the practitioner you are planning on seeing actually has any conditions placed on their licence. This is something that you might wish to take into consideration before having surgery.
Not only do botched procedures put you at risk of dire medical consequences, in some cases risking your life, it can also leave you in severe financial hardship, as it did with this particular patient.
So what should happen after your breast augmentation? Our earlier podcast with Dr Kumar explains just that.
While the Medical Board of Australia has been taking some steps to rectify this issue in the last couple of years, it’s obviously not enough.
With the help of Australian Plastic Surgeon Dr Justin Perron, we have come up with the 7 most important questions to ask before having breast augmentation surgery.
Stay safe ladies, and if in doubt, send an email to [email protected] and we will help steer you in the right direction.