Legal Action in Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery is meant to improve your looks in one way or another. Liposuction would give you a slimmer waistline or firmer thighs. A facelift should result in fewer wrinkles while breast augmentation is for more attractive looking breasts. But what if the end result of cosmetic surgery is not what you envisaged it to be? What forms of redress are open to you?

Since the outcome of plastic surgery can be very subjective, it is rather difficult to make a strong legal case if you are not happy with your looks. A good case in point would be some of the celebrities who had plastic surgery. I'm not talking about the successful cases like Mariah Carey's breast implants; rather I'm referring to those who attracted media attention for all the wrong reasons like Michael Jackson's nose job. The poor results he experienced could have been due to factors other than the surgeon. The only way to successfully seek legal redress is to prove negligence on the part of the surgeon.

Furthermore, before surgery your plastic surgeon would almost certainly have given you a detailed explanation of the procedure in written form. You may have also been given other reading material describing the risks, benefits and alternatives to the plastic surgery you were going to have. Before going ahead with the surgery you would have signed a consent form. All these procedures indicate it was clear to you that the result of the surgery might not be as you fully expect.

But supposing even after all the explanations and consent given, you are still unhappy with your appearance after plastic surgery. The correct thing to do would be to complain to the surgeon himself instead of resort immediately to legal channels. It may be that your surgeon agrees with you to some extent that a better job could have been done and therefore he might perform some corrective surgery for free. You are free to bring a lawsuit against the plastic surgeon at any time but before doing so, you should consider if your case has legal merit and whether it is financially viable for you to do so.

Most lawyers would not accept plastic surgery cases unless three things are clear, based upon expert medical review. Firstly it must be determined that there was negligence and departure from good surgical practice on the part of the plastic surgeon (not just the dissatisfaction of the patient with the outcome of the surgery). Secondly, these departures must be a substantial factor in causing injury to the patient and finally, that such injury is permanent.

In conclusion we must realize that cosmetic plastic surgery carries risks just like any other form of surgery. One such risk is that the outcome might not be perfect in the opinion of the patient. But since this particular risk is subjective in nature, one should be slow in seeking legal redress against the plastic surgeon especially since various documents would have been reviewed and signed by the patient recognizing such risks. A better form of redress would be to negotiate with the surgeon to revise the procedure. This would likely be a more amicable solution to all parties.

For the latest expert treatment and information on cosmetic and plastic surgery, visit http://www.sabahplasticsurgery.com Combine the best plastic surgery treatment with an exotic tropical holiday and save on cost by visiting http://www.beautyborneo.com Both services are superbly managed by Malaysian Certified Plastic Surgeon with over 20 years' experience, Dr. Charles Lee.


By Dr. Charles Lee