Reader Laura Comment:

A while back we had discussed the woman (Sheyla Hershey) … She had KKK-cup implants and went out of the country to have them made even larger and contracted a severe infection and had to have all of her implants removed as well as some of her own breast tissue. Now she’s back in the news. After having the implants removed it seems that she fell into a deep depression and tried several times to commit suicide. Her most recent suicide attempt has left her in a coma. Do plastic surgeons ever send their patients to a psychologist after a consult? What would you say are the warning signs that someone is becoming obsessed with plastic surgery or that they have a body disorder?

A Brazilian model who had the biggest breasts in the world is in a coma after allegedly taking a drug overdose. Sheyla Hershey, 30, who lives in Houston, Texas, had to have her KKK-cup implants removed last year after contracting a deadly infection during the operation to make them bigger. Since then, the mother of one has vowed to get her breasts re-done saying she feels ‘so ugly’ without them.
Source: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357473/Sheyla-Hershey-Model-biggest-breasts-world-coma-drug-overdose.html

Patients seeking extreme outcomes frequently are emotionally labile. Many American plastic surgeons simply avoid them for fear of liability. I would suggest the woman traveled to Brazil for her “large implant surgery” due to an inability to find a domestic surgeon who would take the case. The term you might have been seeking is “Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” I believe it doesn’t take a psychologist to see that in this case. It is pretty obvious. What a given surgeon will do with such a patient varies with his own philosophy.

While I feel for Ms Hershey’s plight, I look at the story as a point of education for other women considering breast augmentation. Many of the women who have implant surgery do not seek these extremes and do well with their implants for decades. I believe it is a patient’s choice to do what he or she will with his or her body. But as a surgeon, I like lower liability surgery that lasts. When getting into a case in which problems seem too likely, I either avoid it or at least inform the patient of the risks involved.

Yes. Doing the right thing can cost me money.

Best Regards,

John Di Saia MD

Originally posted 2011-02-17 07:30:38.