Body Language - Denver Cosmetic Surgery Blog

When CNN News reported the tragic death of an 18-year-old Florida girl during breast surgery earlier this month, it underscored the seriousness with which any surgical procedure should be viewed, says Dr. Ben Lee, double-board certified plastic surgeon. In this particular news story, the surgery was performed by a doctor in West Boca Raton, Florida to correct the young lady’s breast asymmetry when she went into malignant hyperthermia and died.

The condition called malignant hyperthermia is rare and the vast majority of plastic surgeries performed on healthy people do not result in complications or even death, Dr. Lee explains.

Still, any elective medical decision is just that—a decision—and should be taken seriously and entered into thoughtfully.

Dr. Lee spends extensive time with his patients prior to treatment reviewing their concerns, goals and overall reasons for desiring surgery in the first place. “It’s important that a patient wants surgery for themselves, not at the behest of a partner, boyfriend or husband,” says Dr. Lee. “I counsel with the patient to ascertain if their goals regarding any surgery are realistic before scheduling the procedure.”

To ensure that a patient is making a wise, informed and realistic choice in surgery—especially breast augmentation—Dr. Lee recommends the patient be over 18.

Additionally a full evaluation of a patient’s health is important when any surgical procedure is performed, Dr. Lee says. Adherence to recovery instructions after the surgery is very important, explains the Doctor, as the procedures he and his staff recommend a patient follow after surgery are designed to streamline recovery, net optimum results and ensure that the patient is comfortable.

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Last year, Americans spent $13.2 billion on cosmetic surgery nationwide. That amount was the cost paid for 11.7 million surgical cosmetic procedures. Non-surgical treatments like BOTOX injections counted for another 2.8 million procedures done in 2007, according to a survey by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery that included responses from 12,000 surgeons, dermatologists and otolaryngologists.

Dr. Ben Lee saw a rise in numbers of his patients interested in pursuing breast enhancement surgery due to FDA approval of silicone implants. Until the FDA gave the go-ahead for silicone, a number of patients were “on the fence” about enhancement surgery, says Dr. Lee. These patients were not willing to proceed with the surgery when only saline implants were approved because of the advantages of silicone over saline.

Silicone implants require less recovery time as the implant is placed over the muscle tissue, unlike saline implants that are inserted under the muscle which results in a longer recovery period.

“Time is precious to people,” says Dr. Lee. “Patients are increasingly desirous of keeping their youthful looks and even improving their natural looks, but they have to fit that into their active lifestyles, careers and obligations when scheduling their elective surgery.”

The top five cosmetic surgeries performed in 2007 were:

• Liposuction
• Breast augmentation
• Eyelid surgery
• Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
• Breast reduction

Cosmetic surgery has gained speed since the 1990s. Since 1997, surgical procedures have increased by 114 percent while noninvasive cosmetic treatments have risen 754 percent.

Besides breast enhancement (augmentation and reduction), Dr. Lee performs liposuction, the most popular cosmetic treatment of all in the 2007 report. Half a million liposuction surgeries were performed by doctors nationwide in 2007. The types of liposuction he performs are Lipoplasty, traditional liposuction and tumescent liposuction, depending on the area treated and the patient’s unique needs.

Dr. Lee also performs eyelid surgery and tummy tucks, procedures he says patients seek to look more youthful, giving them back the eyelids they had as a young person that don’t droop over the eyes and eliminating the bags under the eyes. The same goes for tummy tucks, he says. Patients are opting for tummy tucks to restore a sleek abdominal area, often after childbirth.

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