The high cost of Plastic Surgery revisions

October 28, 2:43 PMWichita Beauty Treatments ExaminerJoanie Willard

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Who pays for a revision?
Hechlok/flickr.com

You can do all the right things before having cosmetic surgery and still end up with unsatisfactory results. Sometimes researching your physician, getting referrals, seeing pictures of their work is not enough. Recently I requested members of a message board called, Makemeheal.com to relay actual results and their satisfaction levels with various forms of cosmetic surgery.

Few respondents were willing to “out” themselves, but one woman who called this week had this message; things can and do go wrong. “Toni” is from Philadelphia. She would not give her last name choosing to remain anonymous. The reason that she called was, “I want to get this message out, so other women won’t have to go through what I have gone through.”

About two years ago Toni went to see a prominent plastic surgeon in Philadelphia. He was not only well known , he was slated to be featured on a local TV station around the same time that Toni's had her procedure.. What Toni went in for was a blepharoplasty (eye lift). What she ended up with was a future of repeat revision surgeries to repair the damage and bills that have now exceeded $35,000.

The physician altered the original plan of a lower eye lift and added a forehead and cheek lift before Toni entered the operating room. She agreed, believing that he knew what would work best for her. Toni’s recovery did not proceed well. She was worried about how she was healing. “I was freaking out. I didn’t know what was going on.”

She returned to her doctor and according to Toni, he agreed that things didn’t look like they should for her stage in recovery. While in his office, he wanted to do a revision. In the state of Pennsylvania all plastic surgery is to be done in a hospital however, Toni agreed. As she explained it, she was distraught and extremely anxious to regain her appearance so she didn’t question the decision to do a revision in the office. Her doctor did not notate in his office notes that he had done a revision during Toni’s visit. Toni believes that the revision made things even worse. “I now have a bald spot on each side of my head, dents on my skull, a cut on my cheek and my left eye has lost a lot of muscle.”

After consulting an attorney, Toni learned that because her doctor did not note that he had done a revision, it would be her word against his and in the attorney’s opinion she did not have a case. She is now in the process of revision surgery using a different doctor and borrowed money.

Many physicians will do warranted revisions at no cost to the patient.  Operating room, anesthesia and other fees are usually not picked up by the surgeon.  It is a good idea to approach this subject at the initial appointment.


What You Can Do to Minimize Risks
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons urges consumers to do their homework and find out if their potential surgeon:
• Has five or more years of surgical training and at least two years of plastic surgery training

• Operates only in accredited surgical facilities such as a hospital or an office certified by the American Association for Accreditation for Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF)