| By :
Wendy Moyer
Both surgical and non-surgical forms of cosmetic enhancement procedures have been on the rise in the United States. In an annual report that was released by the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) it came to light that in 2007 eleven million seven hundred thousand cosmetic procedures were performed in the US. This was more than a 400% increase in the number of procedures that have been performed since 1997. Although 9.9 million (approximately 82%) were non-surgical procedures such as laser skin rejuvenation, injectable fillers, and Botox, the balance - 1.8 million - were primarily for popular cosmetic surgery procedures such as liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tucks, and nose reshaping. As the number of plastic surgery procedures has increased so have the rates of disfigurement, injury, and death that were cause by improperly supervised staff and untrained and/or inexperienced or negligent doctors and nurses. Cosmetic surgery is a very profitable business. There are doctors who aggressively market their services. Some of these doctors want to meet with these prospective clients so that they can talk to them about undergoing pricey procedures. And there have been times when these medical practitioners have disregarded their patient's existing health conditions and prior medical history in order to turn a profit. And to make matters worse, in order to take advantage of this booming market, there are a lot of nurses and doctors who perform cosmetic procedures in their offices without having the necessary certification, necessary training, or appropriate emergency medical care available. In addition, because most cosmetic surgery procedures aren't covered by health insurance, this area of medical practice is for the most part free from oversight and managed care restrictions. An earlier study done by the ASPS estimated that more than 18,000 cases of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) - a potentially deadly blood clotting condition - occurs every year in plastic surgery patients. Other common complications from cosmetic surgery include nerve damage, excessive scarring, life threatening infections, disfigurement, and Pulmonary Embolism (PE), which is another potentially life threatening blood clotting condition. Liposuction and tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) procedures are those that most commonly cause clotting complications. There have been links made that relate the increased rate of PE and DVT among surgery patients to the surgeons' failing to properly identify those patients who were high risk before they performed surgery. Victims of medical malpractice caused by cosmetic surgery could be entitled to compensation for damages related to their injuries. These damages include the loss of income and the cost of both personal and health care.
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