Navigating the Top 3 Plastic Surgery Complications

OP. DR. YUNUS DOĞAN

Why do we do this?!

Preparing for plastic surgery can seem like a tedious process. For the smoothest experience, you really want to ensure you’ve dotted your eyes and checked your knees. First, you decide what procedure(s) you want. The most popular procedure is 360 liposuction. Take a little off the middle and that fat can be added to a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) to really make your booty pop.

Then there’s the Mommy Makeover - an overhaul of all the areas that your offspring have overwhelmed - where mommas can rejuvenate themselves with 360 liposuction, tummy tuck and breast augmentation.

After you’ve narrowed your focus to your selected surgery, you need a plastic surgeon you can trust. Find him or her with these tips. If you’re going abroad to save a little cash and you’re having plastic surgery in Istanbul, you’ll book plane tickets and possibly a hotel. You’ll pack a suitcase, hire someone to watch your kids while you’re away, book that sweet dogsitter you used when you went on vacation last summer… the list of things you need to do before your plastic surgery can be quite extensive.

Then there’s the personal, tangible prep you should do. Many surgeons agree that how you prepare your body prior to surgery can benefit you in terms of shorter recovery times and better outcomes. If you’re concerned with complications, you’re not alone. All surgeries - aesthetic or not - carry the risk of complication.

While there is no absolute guaranteed way to completely avoid complications, there are things you can do to decrease your odds of experiencing them. Let us add just a few more bullet points to your To-Do List. Trust us, they are worth a read.

The most common plastic surgery complications to date are:

• Seroma - a collection of fluid (called serum) that can build up under your skin’s surface after surgery
• Hematoma - a collection of blood outside larger blood vessels but under your skin’s surface
• Blood loss - all patients lose blood during surgery but significant blood loss can require transfusions

Seroma

You may see or feel a lump under your skin near an incision site. This lump might be tender to the touch. When palpated, the surface of your skin covering a seroma will move like a waterbed’s mattress, indicating fluid underneath. Some serum may leak out of the incision but don’t worry as long as the fluid is clear or yellow-ish. (Contact your doctor immediately if the fluid is thick, turns into a different color or has any odor. Check out healthline.com for more details about identifying your seroma. (Which is quite different from your Sharona, if there are any fans of The Knack reading along.)

The best thing to do to avoid developing a seroma is to follow your surgeon’s aftercare instructions. Wearing your compression garments appropriately is a great place to start. The pressure applied by these garments helps trapped fluid flow and drain naturally, rather than build up and collect in unwanted areas of your body.

While you’re wrapped up in your compression garments, you might as well have a rest and enjoy that nylon/spandex/neoprene hug in which you are encased. Resting is important! Many plastic surgeons suggest limiting exercise for the first 6-9 weeks. Pushing your body back into a high level of exercise too soon after your plastic surgery could result in extra serum being produced.

Large seromas may require needle aspiration, where a medical professional uses a syringe to withdraw the fluid. Smaller seromas often resolve themselves. If you think you have a seroma, contact your surgeon.

Hematoma

On the surface, hematomas are discolored like bruises. Unlike bruises, hematomas may or may not be painful. They may feel swollen like a seroma but their consistency is firmer as the blood inside begins to clot.

While eliminating the possibility of hematomas altogether is impossible, you can decrease your risk by halting any anticoagulation medication you may be taking. Use full disclosure regarding all prescription and herbal medications you are taking so your plastic surgeon can best advise you on preoperative preparation. Stopping drinking alcohol and smoking at least four weeks prior to surgery can also improve your blood’s ability to clot.

Take the advice from seromas and wear your compression garments as instructed. Additionally, avoid exercise for the length of time in accordance with your postoperative aftercare instructions.

Blood loss

All patients experience blood loss to some degree during their plastic surgery. While excessive blood loss can be remedied with a transfusion, it’s better to try to avoid this additional procedure if you can.

In addition to leaving you susceptible to blood loss, low hemoglobin levels can also make you feel weak and dizzy. You may even faint after your procedures, when you’re already weakened from the trauma of the surgery. And that’s assuming you’re able to even have the surgery. Your surgeon may postpone or cancel if your hemoglobin level starts out too low.

How can you prepare your body? Raise your hemoglobin levels! To decrease your risk of losing too much blood or needing a transfusion, prepare your body by “beefing up” your hGb levels, so to speak. Vegetarians and vegans, don’t be mad: you’re included! You don’t really need to eat beef to increase your hGB.

Feast on iron-rich foods such as kale, broccoli, beans, nuts, seeds and other nutritious suggestions at Medical News Today’s website. They also recommend food high in folate that aids in hemoglobin production: spinach, whole grains, eggs and sunflower seeds. Possibly increasing your intake of beta-carotene and vitamins A and C can help strengthen your blood for your plastic surgery.

The last stitch

Research your options and take the time to make an informed decision, then discuss that decision at great length with your surgeon. Together you can determine how to achieve your outcome while understanding the complications that may occur. Ask your surgeon how often his/her patients experience seromas, hematomas or lose excessive amounts of blood. Ask for additional suggestions on how you can help yourself avoid these complications and prepare to redefine yourself!