Costhetics has always been an advocate of safety first and beauty second, (and cost third) when it comes to choosing a cosmetic surgery or treatment.
There are inevitable risks associated with all kinds of aesthetic enhancement: moisturising creams can trigger allergic reactions, any kind of injury to the skin can lead to infection, and anaesthesia can be deadly. The majority of risks can be minimised by finding a trustworthy practitioner, however.
The Surgical Risks You Know
Any surgery involves risk, whether the surgery be medically indicated or cosmetic in nature. Some people are at greater risks than others. For example, if you are obese (BMI of 30+) or suffer from diabetes, you could have an increased risk for of developing complications such as blood clots. Smoking, which decreases blood flow, also adds to surgical risk and with healing, too.
If you are risk-averse, it’s wise to review these common complications related to surgical procedures:
- Complications related to anaesthesia
- Infection at the treatment site
- Scarring
- Nerve damage
- Fluid build-up under the skin
- Significant bleeding that necessitates a transfusion
- Imperfect results that may make additional surgeries necessary
Is Costhetics trying to scare you? On the contrary, we are trying to inform you. To minimise risk, seek out an aesthetic professional, surgeon, or dermatologist. First, they can advise and guide you to making a wise, personal choice for physical enhancement. Then they can perform the procedure competently, relying on their extensive experience to keep you safe while making you beautiful.
Regardless of your doctor’s skill, some surgeries and even minimally invasive treatments simply carry more inherent risks than others. We’d like you to know about them so you can compare the risk to the reward.
Liquid Nose Job
For patients who wish to avoid a surgical solution to nose contouring or whose aesthetic refinement needs are modest, non-surgical rhinoplasty provides an alternative solution. Dermal filler injections can correct a dorsal hump and minor asymmetries. Though the treatment is non-surgical and has fewer risks that a full rhinoplasty, a liquid nose job can be dangerous when performed by someone who is not adequately trained. Risks include blindness or skin necrosis if the filler is injected into the wrong area of the face.
Tummy Tuck
Stubborn belly fat is the reason people opt for abdominoplasty, a surgical procedure frequently including in post pregnancy makeovers for mums and dads. In a tummy tuck, excess abdominal skin and fat are removed, which allows the surgeon to tighten the muscle and fascia of the abdominal wall. The surgery can cause blood clots to form and infiltrate the lungs, with deadly results. People who have a history of medical problems, including the simple challenge of ageing, should think carefully about this cosmetic solution.
Liposuction
Millions cheered when liposuction came to town. It’s a surgical fat removal procedure that targets pockets of fat unaffected by diet and/or exercise. There are a range of liposuction techniques available to doctors today each using a unique technology they use to assist the fat removal process. Liposuction gone wrong can lead to serious infections, blood clots, dehydration and hypovolemic shock. Despite being ubiquitous in the world of aesthetic enhancement, liposuction should be treated as the intensive medical procedure it is, not a “quick fix” alternative to diet and exercise.
Facial Rejuvenation with Cosmetic Injectables
Dermal fillers and muscle-relaxing injections have given a new lease on life to faces not yet ready for surgery. They can be used to minimise nasolabial folds, augment cheeks, fill under-eye bags, and give fine lines and wrinkles the boot. The interest in facial injections continues to grow. Unfortunately, so does the list of unqualified practitioners offering injections in inappropriate settings. People who choose to save money by visiting a non-accredited injector in a hotel room leave themselves open to the risk of swelling and bad reactions from the immune system, with the end result being disfigurement
Cosmetic Procedures to Avoid like COVID
Some surgeries are considered high risk while others are simply beyond the pale putting patient health in jeopardy. As ABC News put it correctly and succinctly “Some medical beauty procedures are not worth the risk.” If you’re thinking go-go-go about any of the procedures and treatments below, Costhetics urges you to shift gears to no no no.
- Butt Implants – Most people assume that breast and bottom implants are the same. No. Implants for breast augmentation are filled with either silicone gel or saline. Implants for the buttocks are solid slabs of silicone. The implants are placed underneath the fibrous lining of the buttock muscles, creating a rounder, more voluminous derriere. Unfortunately, aesthetics sometimes trumps good sense when an implant is placed. In order to hide the incision, a surgeon may choose to place it between the buttocks. This puts an open wound perilously close to the anus and the germs that reside there.
- Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) – Given the problems with traditional butt implants, a Brazilian Butt Lift seemed like a great alternative. Instead of silicone slab implants, excess fat from the patient’s body is removed with liposuction, processed, and strategically injected into the buttocks. The results may be attractive, but the risks are intolerable. A mistake reinjecting the fat can cause it to enter a major blood vessel, resulting in a deadly pulmonary embolism. In a single year, as many as one in 3,000 patients die as a result of the surgery. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons cites BBL has having the highest rate of death for any aesthetic procedure.
Is there cosmetic surgery, facial rejuvenation, or another aesthetic treatment in your future? If so we invite you…encourage you…implore you, to do your research. The Costhetics website is a great place to start. Then seek out a respected member of the aesthetic community to learn more. Together you can make great things happen safely.