When most people think of plastic surgery, they only think of the perfectly smoothed, flawless result. The risks involved are almost always overlooked, or brushed off with the adage “pain is beauty” or the like. Even with all of the outstanding progress that has been made regarding the technology surrounding plastic surgery, there are many facets of danger—including simple human error. Millions of cosmetic procedures are performed each year, and many without incident. Though this is normally the case, it is not possible to overlook the risks that are involved with taking part in such invasive procedures.
1. Surgical Risks
Implant rejection, blood clots, scarring, skin necrosis, nerve damage, and pigmentation are all risks associated with this type of surgery. Smokers may also face the risk of an extended amount of healing time, while those with any vascular conditions will need a longer healing plan as well. Shock, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest are all things that can happen right on the operating table. There are also a few cases in which a surgeon has accidentally left a tool inside of the patient’s body—and sewed it up. This will lead to infection and will require additional surgery in order to remove it.
2. Huge Financial Costs
Plastic surgery is not a cheap thrill by any means. Many procedures cost tens of thousands of dollars, and the cost only goes up with the experience of the doctor and the intricacy of the procedure. The patient will need to take time from work in order to make a full recovery. Small procedures may take a few days to heal while other more detailed procedures may take weeks for the body to fully recover—this is (normally) all time that is taken off from a full time job, a huge financial loss.
3. Emotional Damage
Those who undergo plastic surgery run the risk of missing the feeling of fulfillment after they have undergone their procedure. Those who did not feel satisfied often went back to have additional work done. When the procedure yielding results other than those expected, the patient may also feel resentment or anger toward their doctor.
4. The Risk of the Procedure Going Wrong
As with everything, there is always a risk that it just doesn’t turn out exactly as planned, no matter how much time and thought went into it. Many times individuals will end up with some very heavy psychological repercussions when a procedure did not end up looking the way that they visualized. The physical features can end up severely distorted, causing the patient to seek treatment and medications to deal with it. There are many cases of plastic surgery gone wrong, so a simple internet search will yield all of the proof needed.
5. Physical Pains
The most popular complaints of physical pain from those that have undergone plastic surgery include nausea, vomiting, headaches, and prolonged pain. Over time these pains can go away, but in a rare case one or more pains can linger. There will also be pronounced inflammation around the area in which the procedure was performed. This is the reason that the timeline associated with healing from a traumatic event to the body can vary widely from person to person.
6. Blood Loss
This is one of the most common concerns related to plastic surgery. Extreme blood loss is indicative of something going extremely wrong atop the operating table. Large amounts of blood loss can lead to organ failure or even death. Though this is not the outcome in most cases, it still remains a negative point as a possibility when making the decision to go under the knife.
7. Possible Allergic Reactions
It is vital that the patient who is undergoing surgery know all of their allergies. This could be allergies to materials like certain metals or latex or even medications. When post operational medications cause an allergic reaction, the patient could be confined to their bed for weeks.
