Plastic Surgery Reality: The “RE-DO”

Plastic surgeons’ web domains are peppered with some truly amazing “before and after” photos of successful outcomes, feelbeautiful.com included.

However, consumers should understand that although most results were achieved after one procedure, some required two or more operations.  Subsequent procedures usually involve some sort of correction for an imperfect feature after the first surgery.

Human tissues are soft and elastic.  Cosmetic surgical sculpture rearranges, augments, or reduces sizes and shapes.  Healing occurs over time, and the nature and amount of scarring and settling cannot always be predicted.  The human body is dynamic.  We move and stretch body parts in ways that cannot always be factored in when planning and performing cosmetic surgery.  The materials we work with such as implants and sutures are imperfect and subject to failure or extrusion.  Interactions between these materials and surrounding structures develop over time.  Add to this uncertainty the individual variability among us, and it’s obvious the precise outcome in any given situation can be visualized in advance but doesn’t always materialize as expected.

For surgeons, finely tuned judgment, experience, and caution are important to consistently deliver the most beautiful and trouble-free results.  For patients, approach your cosmetic procedure with an understanding that more than a single session of surgery may be required to achieve a result you’re pleased with.  In Dr. Laverson’s practice, revisions are most often minor office procedures to improve the result or correct a bothersome issue.  Sometimes, however, a return to the surgery center is necessary.  Major medical complications are rare, but also a possibility.

The best preparation is to become educated about the procedure you are considering.  Understand what types of revisions may be necessary and how much additional cost and recovery time is usually involved.  Choose a surgeon who will partner with you in an effort to achieve the best result in case a secondary adjustment is indicated.