When it comes to plastic surgery, the results can be hit or miss. The American Society of Plastic surgeons reported that in 2015, 15.9 million people chose to have cosmetic procedures, That’s a lot of nips and tucks. But these surgeries don’t come without risk. So before you go under the night educate yourself on what could go wrong.
The risks of breast implants
Women turn to implants to increase their original breast size, perfect their shape or to restore their breasts back to original form after breastfeeding. Occasionally, what follows are complications and adverse outcomes to the surgery. One percent of women experience post-complications according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here’s what can happen when breast implants go wrong according to Medic8:
- Your body can form a protective layer of scar tissue around the implant (capsular contracture.) Overtime the implant will harden losing all suppleness.
- Silicone can leak and spread outside of the implant and into the breast area. This causes small painful lumps called ‘siliconomas’ to develop. And the silicone can spread into the muscles under the armpit, under the arm or around the nerves to the arm.
- Sometimes the implant moves out of position. It can happen to both saline and silicone implants. And the bigger the implant, the greater the chance of it moving.
- Occasionally, one implant may deflate due to a tear, leaving you looking lopsided.
Complications usually require more surgery to correct the problem.
The risks of fillers
Many people choose hyaluronic acid fillers to add volume to skin thinned by ageing, hoping for a fuller, more youthful effect. But what you hope for isn’t always what you get.
Unfortunately, from the “hyaluronic fountain of youth” a number of problems can emerge. Medical evidence shows that fillers can cause blindness, facial collapse, herpes, rheumatic disease and blue-tinged flesh according to Mail Online. For one woman who chose to have the treatment injected into her face just prior to her wedding the outcome was horrific.
Later that evening, after her injections, Mary woke up in agony feeling like someone had thrown acid over her face. Over the next 48 hours, she developed flu-like symptoms, vomiting and diarrhea, felt disorientated and developed redness on her cheeks and neck report Mail Online. Eventually she lost vision in one of her eyes. The specialist thought the fillers entered her system through her bloodstream. Mary experienced facial nerve damage and her brain desensitized from the trauma. £10,000 later, she’s still trying to correct the damage caused by the injections.
The risk of liposuction
Many people think of liposuction as a quick-fix for losing fat. While it may sound like a minor procedure, a lot can go wrong. Here some serious risks that may result from liposuction according to the FDA:
- Life threatening infections including necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating disease) and toxic shock syndrome, a serious, sometimes fatal infection caused by a bacteria.
- Embolism, which can occur when the fat is loosened and enters the blood through blood vessels ruptured during liposuction.
- Organ wounds that can happen because the physician can’t see where the probe is.
- Death, which can happen when liposuction is performed in conjunction with other surgeries.
Since cosmetic procedures are not medically necessary, really take the time to decide if the risks are worth it. Once you go forward, you may never be able to go back.
-Katherine Marko