Missouri residents may agree that some cosmetic surgery procedures such as rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and liposuction are considered routine. These types of procedures are performed often enough that people may forget that they are still considered major surgery and come with the same risks as other procedures. Cosmetic surgery errors can lead to permanent disfigurement, other serious or permanent injuries and even death.
For example, an out-of-state woman elected to have breast augmentation surgery. A plastic surgeon performed the procedure in Aug. 2013. Within an hour of the procedure, it became obvious the 18-year-old was suffering from complications. She slipped into a coma that lasted until Oct. 2013. When she awoke, doctors confirmed she suffered brain damage. She now requires around-the-clock care and is unable to walk or feed herself, among other things. Perhaps the saddest part is that she is no longer able to be a mother to her child.
The Florida surgery center where the procedure was done alleges the woman had issues with anesthesia in the past — a fact they claim she withheld from doctors. The surgeon that performed the procedure has no medical malpractice complaints on his record. However, reports indicate that the anesthesiologist present at her surgery has a complicated legal past. He was convicted of selling drugs in Iowa and was a defendant in a medical malpractice case involving the death of a woman after a buttock augmentation procedure.
The family of the young woman in this case plans to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Fortunately, the permanent injuries suffered by this woman are not typical of this type of procedure. Most cosmetic surgeons and the other professionals they work with do everything they can to ensure the safety of their patients. However, cosmetic surgery errors do occur. Missouri patients who suffer disfigurement or other serious injury attributed to medical error – or the surviving families of patients that die — retain the right to file malpractice claims to seek recovery of financial damages sustained as the result of a botched procedure or other form of medical negligence.
Source: Fox News Latino, “Boob Job Leaves Miami Teen With Brain Damage; Family Sues Clinic For Malpractice,” Feb. 4, 2014