Tummy Tuck Manhattan

Question:

Teacher Gets Tummy Tuck and Dies the Next Day - Plastic Surgeon Sentenced in Death of Woman In Florida - Thirteen People Die After Plastic Surgery

Headlines like these are reason enough for most of us to dismiss even fleeting considerations of surgically enhanced thighs or breasts. We think it's simply not worth the risk. But the medical community says the media are misleading. "The plastic surgery mortality rates printed in news headlines are, in my opinion, grossly exaggerated. They satisfy the need for hype - that's it!" says Mark Gorney, MD, former president of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. What is the truth, and are there ways to gauge the risks?

Answer:

Many doctors say that the fatalities cited in the news are the result of procedures not done on the up-and-up. For example, either the doctor wasn't properly trained, the facilities were not up to snuff, or anesthesia problems were involved. The truth is, just by their nature, plastic surgeries are low risk. "They're usually superficial, meaning they don't involve major organs or blood vessels, and they're typically done on relatively young, healthy people," says Michael McGuire, MD, a California plastic surgeon. "Right there, you've eliminated a lot of the complexities involved with almost all other kinds of surgeries. Most surgeons won't do plastic surgeries on patients who have health problems."

But cosmetic surgery is still surgery, which always involves risks. Many news-making fatalities involve complications with anesthesia. Too much or the wrong kind of anesthesia can literally cause a patient to drown in fluid or suffocate due to loss of reflex abilities (like breathing or swallowing). Because of this, some physicians don't use general anesthesia - just local with sedation - so that the patient never loses her reflexes. (But being awake during surgery is, needless to say, not the best option for every patient.) Talk to the anesthesiologist who will be on your surgical team. Divulge all medications (birth control, antibiotics, even herbal supplements) you take, and thoroughly discuss your medical history. And ask your doctor about his or her relationship with the anesthesiologist. "A good anesthesiologist - and - surgeon team can have complications like anyone else. What makes them good is that they recognize it and deal with it before anything happens," says Jane Recant, MD, a Manhattan anesthesiologist. (One doctor spoke of a novice anesthesiologist who was too nervous around the surgeon to chime in that the patient's vital signs were plummeting). "In the hands of a board-certified anesthesiologist who specializes in ambulatory anesthesia or routinely does the type of surgery that you're interested in, the risk of complication is small."

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