Cosmetic surgery is becoming more and more popular, as those who are able to afford it can use the procedure as a means of improving their appearance, or looking younger for longer, or shifting excess weight quickly without dieting. But cosmetic surgery can involve a cost which is more than simply financial.
The risks involved with cosmetic surgery have been highlighted by the recent high-profile scandal involving the French company Poly Implant Protheses (PIP). PIP had supplied the cosmetic surgery industry with defective breast implants which contained industrial-grade rather than medical-grade silicone.
All forms of surgical procedure, including minor operations, carry a certain element of risk to the patient. Risks include bleeding, contusion, thrombosis, infection, or a bad reaction to anaesthetic – and this applies just as much to cosmetic surgery as it does to any other type of invasive surgery. But, according to Mr Fazel Fatah, President of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), it seems that attitudes towards cosmetic surgery have become “trivialised”. Mr Fatah suggests that the boundaries between (non-invasive) cosmetic medicine and (invasive) cosmetic surgery have become less clear, and that many people believe that cosmetic surgery is a comparatively simple procedure. Moreover, because cosmetic surgery is hardly ever carried out for medical reasons, this has led to it being regarded as not “proper” surgery.
The degree of risk varies depending on the nature of the cosmetic surgery itself. As with any form of surgery, operations which are simple and short (and hence require only a local anaesthetic) are less risky than complicated longer ones where a general anaesthetic is needed. There is usually a higher risk of post-operative complication with procedures such as tummy-tucks, because the patient’s mobility is restricted after the operation.
Many people prefer to travel abroad for cosmetic surgery as it is often cheaper than its UK equivalent. However, this may also be riskier as the overall standards of quality may well be lower. Those wishing to research the track record of a cosmetic surgeon based overseas, or the safety record of a foreign hospital, will find that such research is not easy to accomplish at a distance. Furthermore, aftercare in the event of complications after the surgery will be much more difficult. Post-operative problems arising from cosmetic surgery can take weeks or even months to develop, by which time the patient will have returned home and may not be in a position to return to the overseas clinic.
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