There are many procedures that are classified as cosmetic surgery. Services that can be performed are breast enhancements, face lifts, skin peels, hair replacements, lip augmentations, ear surgery, tummy tucks, liposuctions, and calf enhancements.
All of these procedures are performed to improve the look of the body, by giving a more pleasing curvature to the particular part or area of the body. Like most types of surgeries, cosmetic procedures can be invasive and evolved. They are considered major procedures and there are certain risks involved.
First, it is important to know whether or not you are a good candidate for a procedure. There are certain diseases, disorders, and conditions that can cause problems for a patient who is considering cosmetic surgery. Such conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, certain heart conditions, high lipid levels, depression, and even morbidly obesity.
Also, it is important to know that smoking can and will have an adverse impact on any type of surgery. These conditions will either increase the strain on your body causing more complications or they prevent your body from healing quickly and correctly. Also, even though heavy alcohol use will not preclude someone from having surgical procedures, excessive ingestion of it can lead to poor response to general anesthesia during the procedure and pain medications afterwards.
However, before ruling out whether you should or should not have the surgery because you have a condition listed above, you may still want to consult your plastic surgeon because she will be able to see if you condition falls within the parameters.
Next, it is important to understand how your body responds to trauma including medical procedures like surgery. Understanding the signs and symptoms of complications and the risks involved will make you a better patient, because you will be able to communicate these things to your physician before they become a serious problem. For instance, swelling and tenderness after a surgery is normal. You can expect the swelling and redness to begin to go away after the first few days.
However, if your pain increases, the area of redness gets larger, you see streaks of red move away for the surgical wounds, or if there is pus coming out of them, then it is important to contact your physician. This could be a sign of infection. Typically, however, you will be prescribed an antibiotic as a prophylactic. You should still keep an eye out for complications.
Other complications include things like nerve damage, blood clots, temporary paralysis, and loose sutures. These types of things rarely happen, but you need to be informed about them just in case something begins to happen. Being able to notify your physician of the first sign of the complication will allow him to fix it before it becomes progressively worse.
Because the surgeon is cutting through tissue, nerve endings can be damaged. You may feel numb or tingling in that area. Often this subsides, but not always. Because it deals with nerve endings, it can also lead to temporary paralysis, but this too will subside.
Also, whenever you lay in bed for a long period of time, your blood has a chance to pool, which can lead to blood clots. Nurses like to put sequential compression devices on your feet or calves. These massaging devices help circulate the blood from your legs back up to your heart while laying in bed. They help prevent clots. Then, it is important to monitor your surgical site.
As mentioned above, you will want to be aware of any type of infection, but you also want to make sure that the sutures stay tight. If they come undone too soon, they can lead the surgical wound not healing properly.
Although there are numerous things that can go wrong during cosmetic surgery, it rarely does. Although the preceding conditions can seem daunting, this article is more intended to educate the reader on types signs to be aware of. Being armed with this information will allow a patient to receive the care they want and deserve. For further information, you can always discuss these complications with your health provider.
By: A Aaronson
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