News Story - There's a risk to the beauty of surgery

February 11, 2004

michelle king (michellerking1@...) has sent you a news article. (Email address has not been verified.)

Personal message:

check out the part about autoimmunedisorders ffor B.I. surgeries,hey were starting to be heard.

There's a risk to the beauty of surgery

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040122/en_usatoday/theresarisktothebeautyofsurgery

My Mail Sign InNew User? Sign Up

News Home - Help

Welcome, Guest

Personalize News Home Page

-

Sign In

News

Wed, Feb 11, 2004

Search

News StoriesNews PhotosAudio/VideoThe Web for

Advanced

News Home

Most Popular

Weather

Audio/Video

Full Coverage

News Resources

Providers

·

Reuters

·

AP

·

AFP

·

E! Online

·

Variety

·

USATODAY.com

·

ET on

·

CP

·

Photos

News Alerts

·

Meg

·

Harvard Medical School

Services

·Daily Emails

·Free News Alerts

News via RSS

Stars Shine and Dine at Luncheon Official Academy Awards partying began Monday as the stars attended the annual nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills.

Entertainment - USATODAY.com

There's a risk to the beauty of surgery

Thu Jan 22, 7:35 AM ET

Add Entertainment - USATODAY.com to My

By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY

Millions of Americans get poked, prodded - and cut open - all in the name of beauty. But last week's death of novelist Olivia Goldsmith from complications during plastic surgery provides a sharp reminder that surgery, any surgery, is inherently risky.

It's the other Hilton

In living hair color

won't attend next court hearing

Singer Lou Rawls settles suit for $35,000

Can you stick to your low-carb diet?

Search USATODAY.com

Snapshots

USA TODAY Snapshot

What sports drinks are most popular with teenagers?

More USA TODAY Snapshots

Goldsmith, 54, best known as the author of 1992's The First Wives Club, had a heart attack while she was under anesthesia for surgery in New York to remove loose skin under her chin, according to media reports. She fell into a coma and died a day later, according to reports, but the cause of death is under investigation, and "we're not confirming any details of her tragic death," says Ken Sunshine, spokesman for Goldsmith's estate.

Plastic surgery, like most surgeries, is relatively safe. Anesthesia-related deaths in the USA occur in 1 in 250,000 procedures, says the American Society of Anesthesiologists. But Goldsmith's death is a reminder that "plastic surgery isn't a pure benefit," says Etcoff, psychologist at Harvard Medical School (news - web sites) and author of Survival of the Prettiest. "It isn't someone waving a magic wand and you look better. You're subjecting yourself to potential dangers."

People make the mistake of thinking it's "like TV, that you go get a face lift and in an hour you're fine," says Rod Rohrich, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "It is real surgery to be done by real surgeons in a real operating room. With that is the potential for inherent real risks."

Cosmetic procedures by plastic surgeons have increased 195% since 1992, and about 6.6 million Americans had procedures in 2002, according to the plastic surgeons society. Risks range from ugly scarring and illness to death.

Diane , a commercial property manager from Dallas, says she understood the risks when she had facial plastic surgery three years ago. But that didn't stop her. Goldsmith's death "is a one-in-a-million type thing," says , 56. "You can't go through life just hiding behind everything. You've got to think, 'Well, that was an accident. It's not going to happen to me.' "

In 2000, 2,100 people died from complications and adverse reactions among more than 70 million surgeries, the National Center for Health Statistics says.

Even a small risk should be considered carefully, doctors say.

"You have to ask yourself, 'How important is it for me to have my face lifted?' " says Litwiller, president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. "If it's very important, then you do everything you can to minimize that risk." That includes checking a physician's qualifications and making sure surgical facilities can handle emergencies.

In a youth-driven culture, it's easy to understand why people take the risk, Etcoff says.

The surgery provides people "a whole new freedom ... to look any way they want," Etcoff says. "It used to be people would go into hairdressers and say, 'I want Meg (news)'s hairdo.' Now it's 'I want her nose, her chin.' "

Popular procedures, potential problems

Top five plastic surgeries in 2002 (not including non-surgical procedures such as Botox):

Procedure: Nose surgery. Number of surgeries in 2002: 354, 327. Risks: Infection; small burst blood vessels resulting in tiny, permanent red spots; incomplete improvement requiring additional surgery.

Procedure: Liposuction. Number of surgeries in 2002: 282,876. Risks: Asymmetry; rippling or bagginess of skin; pigmentation changes; skin injury; fluid retention; excessive fluid loss leading to shock; infection; burning caused by the heat from the ultrasound device.

Procedure: Breast enlargement. Number of surgeries in 2002: 236,888. Risks: Surgical removal or replacement of the implants, required to treat problems such as deflation; the formation of scar tissue around the implant, which may cause the breast to feel tight or hard; bleeding or infection. Also: Increase or decrease in sensitivity of nipples or breast skin (occasionally permanent). Mammography requires a special technique. (Note: Some women have reported symptoms similar to those of immune disorders with silicone implants. Ask your doctor about these and other concerns.)

Procedure: Eyelid surgery. Number of surgeries in 2002: 230,672. Risks: Temporary blurred or double vision; infection; bleeding; swelling at the corners of the eyelids; dry eyes; formation of whiteheads; slight asymmetry in healing or scarring; difficulty in closing eyes completely (rarely permanent); pulling down of the lower lids (may require further surgery); blindness (extremely rare).

Procedure: Face lift. Number of surgeries in 2002:117,831. Risks: Injury to nerves that control facial muscles or feeling (usually temporary but may be permanent); infection; bleeding; poor healing; excessive scarring; asymmetry of or change in hairline.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Email Story

Post/Read Msgs

Print Story

Ratings:

Would you recommend this story?

Not at all

1

- 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Highly

Special Feature Missed Tech Tuesday? Get ready for your next ride--a rolling supercomputer

Sign In

News Story - There's a risk to the beauty of surgery

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Activity