Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong - Lifelong Regrets

For those who are considering a surgical body modification, there are some serious sides to consider besides the uncertain hopes that everything will look as good as hoped for on the pre-op side of the operation door, and that is to give some realistic thought to the lifelong results when plastic surgery has gone wrong.

It has become a popular and accepted procedure in our culture, but many times it does not produce the expected results and those can be lifelong or even fatal right at the operating table. Here’s a look at some of the different facets of the darker side of plastic surgery gone wrong.

Misshapen surgical results

What’s worse than not liking what you looked like before you went under the knife is being horrified at what you look like after you’ve had your surgery. Botched plastic surgery is hard to deal with, especially because the patient has two choices; live with the new deformity or go back under the knife a second or third time, or more than that, and each time takes you further and further from your desired result. There are no guarantees in plastic surgery, and having the surgery is gambling with fate. Would you risk your body’s lifelong shape and health on the chance that it might come out alright? That the skin won’t be pulled too tight or heal in the wrong place, that the eyebrows won’t be too high, the breasts lopsided, the lips not too big, the eyes no longer reflective windows of the soul but rather a poorly done surgical job?

Scars

Anytime skin is cut into, scars are almost inevitable. The severity of the scar depends upon the cut and the ensuing pulling, stitches, healing and handling of the wounds. Scars are forever, and scarred tissue is part and parcel of getting cosmetic surgery or body enhancements.

Tissue damage

Another issue is permanent damage to nerves, tissue and muscle. Once cut, these vital parts of the body don’t always heal as they should, leaving the person with parts of their biological system that do not work, such as not being able to speak or express emotion with the facial muscles, or being able to move and maneuver as one once could. Skin that is numb to the touch is another possibility, and it can be permanent, and it’s not always immediately obvious, sometimes the damage isn’t noticed until weeks after the surgery has healed. Sometimes the tissue that has been operated on dies and that can cause additional problems and further necessary surgeries.

Bleeding, blood clots and bruising

Post operative healing can be a trying and difficult experience made worse by continual or additional bleeding as well as painful bruising and discoloration of the skin. Though these are usually a temporary drawback, suffering through painful bleeding and bruising can lead to other complications and risks. Blood clots while mostly inconvenient can sometimes require additional surgical procedures or can even become lethal if the clot moves toward the brain, heart or lungs, requiring immediate medical attention.

Reactions to anesthetics

As if plastic or cosmetic surgery wasn’t invasive or dangerous enough, there is an additional hazard in the exposure to anesthetics during the procedure. Not everyone can adapt to the medicine used to render people unconscious, and some people do not wake up from it. Consider the risk that death may occur, and weigh the possibility in a decision to undergo elective surgery. Are you willing to risk dying for it?

Dying

Speaking of dying for it, there are people who die from plastic surgeries, and others who die shortly afterward, due to complications, bleeding, infections or even in rare circumstances, people who commit suicide because they simply cannot handle the negative outcome of the results of their surgeries. In high profile cases, the doctor can sometimes be taken to court for the fatality, but sometimes a person passing away on an operating table is just one of those things that happens, and with elective surgery, it didn’t have to happen.

Some of the stories of plastic surgery gone wrong include fairly high profile people. Isel Pineda was only 51 when she had a surgery for liposuction and died of cardiac arrest before she left the doctor’s office. He served two months in prison for her death, and that was it.

Plasticsurgerytalks.com also reported that Olivia Goldsmith, an author who wrote many books but was most well known for her book-turned-successful-movie The First Wives Club, died of a heart attack during cosmetic surgery. This is an irony, as her movie star character Elise (played by Goldie Hawn) in The First Wives Club film, frequently undergoes elective surgery, and in fact has an argument with her cosmetic surgeon in one of the movie scenes in which he tells her to lay off the plastic surgery.

Solange Magnano, a female model who won the Miss Argentina title and crown in 1994, had started her own modeling agency but died after having heart problems following her cosmetic surgery for butt implants.

Death is not common, but it is a factor to consider, as is malformation. Kim Novak was a Hollywood star in the 1950’s and 1960’s who only dabbled in film for four decades after that, and who had some success in her glamorous heyday, but she drew a great deal of attention to her seriously botched cosmetic facial surgeries when she walked out onto the stage in front of the world at the 2014 Oscars as a presenter. She was almost unrecognizable due to the badly done surgeries she’d had. She isn’t the only celebrity to wind up with disastrous results, Kenny Rogers keenly regrets his facial surgeries, Mickey Rourke is hardly a shadow of his former self, Heidi Montag and Big Ang are known for little more now than the drastic changes they’ve made to their bodies, although Heidi is remorseful of her decision and wishes she could undo it. Some other celebrities who have suffered bad cosmetic surgeries are Hunter Tylo, Axl Rose, Tara Reid, and Daryl Hannah.