Womens Health in the News

Although cosmetic surgery has a very low risk of complications every type of surgery does have risks and complications can arise especially where anaesthesia is involved, in fact most complications are due to general anaesthetic. The most common complications are:

• Abnormal heart rhythm.
• Obstruction to the airways.
• Blood clots developing.
• Brain damage.
• Heart attack.
• Death.
• Malignant hyperthermia.
• Damage to the nerves.
• Temporary paralysis.
• Stroke.

Obstructed airways

Anaesthetic can sometimes cause problems with the airways and this can then lead to the vocal chords going into spasms and can then block the airways.

Brain damage

If blood vessels are depressed at dangerous levels then the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen and brain damage can then occur.

Malignant hyperthermia

Although this is very rare it does happen and it occurs when the body temperature, blood pressure and the heart rate all rise to hyperactive levels, it is a condition which can be inherited and if it isn’t recognised early then it can lead to death.

Temporary paralysis

This is easily detectable and treatable and can occur if the muscle relaxants haven’t completely worn off after surgery.

Aspiration

If you vomit during surgery then the vomit can enter your lungs, it can then cause problems such as mild discomfort, lead to infections; cause a chronic cough and cause an obstruction in the lungs.

Blood loss

Excessive blood loss during surgery can cause major complications; during surgery, this will be noticeable by pooling blood or by a drop in the blood pressure. If it occurs after the surgery, it can accumulate under the skin and it might require additional surgery.

Complications typically associated with cosmetic surgery

Necrosis

This will usually follow an infection and those who smoke are more at risk from this, the skin will be surgically removed and this may have an effect on the cosmetic outcome.

Slow healing

This can be due to age, failure to follow the doctor or surgeon’s advice or your skin type.

Numbness and tingling

This can either be only temporary or it can be a permanent loss of sensation or tingling and numbness, this results from damage to the sensory or motor nerves.

Dimples, puckers or divots

These can occur due to error made by the surgeon or from healing irregularities or problems during the healing process.

Seroma

This can usually occur after breasts augmentation, tummy-tucks or liposuction and occurs when fluid collects under the skin.

While there can be complications cosmetic surgery is a relatively safe process, figures have shown that:

• The rate of serious complications is less than half of 1 percent.
• The mortality rate is very low only one in 57,000 cases.

If you are at all concerned over any type of procedure, you should ask your plastic surgeon to fully explain any risks or complications of that surgery before you commit yourself it. Your surgeon will be happy to talk over any aspect of the surgery including methods used and the type of anaesthesia that will be used for the surgery and complications associated with it.

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1. Choosing a plastic surgeon