It has been reported there was another cosmetic surgery death in Miami. This was (MTV’s star) Jacky Oh. Evidently, the city has attracted an overwhelming and inordinate number of risk-taking providers and consumers. And it appears the commonality is cost.
When you make your decisions on cosmetic surgery based on the cheapest fee, you are essentially putting your life at risk, even more so than writing in your car without your seatbelt. I don’t understand why some people are willing to risk their lives to save a few dollars. Admittedly we don’t know the facts about this recent death, but we do know that the emergency team was called to a hotel. We must have all the facts before we lay the blame on anyone.
However, cosmetic surgery is a luxury item/service intended to improve our quality of life and help us feel better about ourselves. Fortunately, the science of plastic surgery has evolved into usually a very safe inconsistent environment. However, when the primary goal is cost, safety is neglected, and this costs lives.
Caution and Experience
In our practice, we take great pride in focusing on preoperative evaluation, including clearances from all prescribing physicians pertinent to the patient at hand. For example, if a patient has a cardiologist, we must know that that heart condition is stable and the patient is safe for several hours of anesthesia. Once we are confident that all the preoperative evaluations are made, then we focus on postop care. Once I perform the surgical procedure to the best of my ability and achieve the most artistic and anatomically beneficial result, then the postop care begins.
We require mommy makeover patients to stay in our professional observation unit observed by trained nurses with direct access to me as the operating surgeon. Again, postoperative complications cannot always be avoided, but it seems that there is an excessive number of catastrophes at certain locations in certain cities.
I implore you not to make your cosmetic surgery decisions based on cost but on safety and best outcomes. This is what we offer at our site. Our thoughts and prayers go out to this patient in all patients who have sustained avoidable complications.
THOMAS TREVISANI, MD
BOARD-CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGERY
