By Ada Méndez
Miami-Dade Health
A successful plastic surgery can bring lots of joy to patients, but before you let the surgeon do his job, there is a lot to think and ask, about possible complications.
According to medical data, in 2016 Americans spent more than $9 billion dollars in cosmetic surgery. From breast augmentation to rhinoplasty, procedures to change our appearance are becoming increasingly common, but these procedures don’t come without risks.
One of the most common unwanted effects of plastic surgery is hematoma, a pocket of blood that resembles a large, painful bruise. Surgeons say that it occurs in about 6 percent of breast augmentation procedures and is the most common complication after a facelift. Sometimes hematoma becomes so serious that further surgeries are needed in order to drain the blood.
Nerve damage could be another result of plastic surgery. Numbness and tingling are common after plastic surgery and can be signs of nerve damage. Breast augmentation, one of the most popular plastic surgery among women can lead to a change of sensitivity in most patients, and 15 percent of them lose nipple sensation altogether.
Pulmonary embolism, a condition in which blood clots form in deep veins and travel to the lungs can be also an unwanted result of plastic surgery and you should talk to your surgeon about the chances of this type of complication.
Most of the time, surgery typically results in some scarring, and since cosmetic surgery is intended to improve the way the patient looks, scarring can be particularly troubling. According to plastic surgeons, up to five percent of breast augmentation procedures end up with hypertrophic scarring, an abnormally red and thick raised scar that does not look good at all.
Infections could also complicate the results of any plastic surgery, however simple such procedure may be. Though postoperative care includes steps to reduce the risk of infection, it remains one of the more common complications. In up to four percent of cases of breast augmentation, for instance, cellulitis (a skin infection) can occur. In some cases, infections can be internal and severe, requiring the most strong antibiotics.
Another issue with plastic surgery has to do with results expectations. In just a couple of examples, those patients who undergo breast surgery may experience contouring or asymmetry problems, while those undergoing facial surgeries could simply not be happy with the results altogether.
Liposuction, another popular plastic surgery, can be traumatic for internal organs. Known as visceral perforations, these punctures can occur when the surgical probe comes into contact with organs, such as the liver, bladder or kidneys. To complicate things, repairing these injuries can require additional surgeries. Surgeons warn that perforations may also be fatal in some cases.
The vast majority of plastic surgeries require general anesthesia. More common anesthesia risks include waking up confused and disoriented and shivering. A less common complication is anesthesia awareness or waking up in the middle of surgery.
It’s important to talk to your doctor about these complications and know all the facts before consenting to plastic surgery however simple such procedure may be.