While plastic surgery can offer great improvements in innumerable aesthetic and reconstructive concerns, all do so with certain after surgery issues. In some operations these after surgery issues are so slight by comparison to the initial problem that they may be of little consequence. In other operations, their consideration may be of such significance that they may make the difference of whether one should undergo surgery at all. While many patients do not always appreciate that there are trade-offs and the risks of complications with every plastic surgery procedure, a well-informed and thorough preoperative consultation should educate one that it is so.
There is a difference in the after surgery issues of trade-offs and complications. A trade-off is an assured event that is inevitable. It may be a visible scar or the implantation of a medical device that makes the operation possible. A complication is a potential event of variable occurrence that one hopes never happens. It may be a hypertrophic scar or an infected medical device and often leads to additional surgery. It is equally important that one knows both of these after surgery events for any plastic surgery operation they are considering. If the result of any plastic surgery procedure is successful and aesthetically pleasing, a trade-off is a minor consideration and well worth it. If a trade-off becomes a complication, it may still work out favorably but often may not.
‘Trade-offs for Plastic Surgery Are Often Worth It If They Do Not Become Complications’
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana