Plastic surgeons argue as to the best ways to please their clients. Sometimes a client’s request can lead into dangerous territory. Then the surgeon may get sued. That happened in nearby Canada:

The diminutive Filipina woman speaks little English but managed to say her wish was “to look Hollywood.” In the end, she looks neither “Hollywood” nor “porn star.”

After $17,000 in surgery, Susan Tiglao left a Brampton, Ont., doctor’s office with breasts so big on her tiny frame she is in constant pain. They are lopsided, scarred and bereft of sensitivity. Her nipples face different directions. Her tummy tuck went similarly awry; instead of a three inch C-section scar that she wished to hide, she now has a hip-to-hip horizontal scar above her bikini line.

An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled there was a profound disconnect between the doctor and his patient, awarding her and her husband $155,600 in damages.

Source: news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/13/cosmetic-surgeon-on-the-
hook-for-155k-after-misinterpreting-request-giving-woman-
huge-lopsided-breasts/

Part of this looks like misunderstanding, but part of it is likely a consequence of going too large on the implants. We have talked about this before. No one comes in asking to look lopsided or misshapen or have constant pain. Implants larger than a woman’s tissues will support have a much greater chance of ending up there though.

The long tummy tuck scar was likely needed to correct the patient’s pre-operative deformity. This is a matter of disclosure as much as performance. Why it was made higher than desired is another point. I tell patients they will have a long scar then I work to make it look like less of a problem. Not all surgeons are able to do this in all patients. It is statistical.

The bottom line on this is, as always, that improvements can be made but there is a point at which more extreme is much more dangerous. Quality surgeons (my opinion of course) stay away from that line.

I am not sure how large this woman went on her implants, but staged implant operations can more safely stretch what cannot be stretched in one. Good plastic surgery is judgment and skill. These are two things for which people pay but do not always receive.

On the other hand, some patients decline the advice of the quality surgeon and keep searching until they find a doctor willing to give them what they think they want. When they end up in plastic surgery hell, it is their own fault as much as it is their more liberal doctor’s. Caveat Emptor.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD