Florida Plastic Surgery Errors and Negligence

Errors during cosmetic surgical procedures can include failure to warn of potential risks or outcomes of the surgery, failure to recognize health risks such as pulmonary embolisms, anesthesia errors, medication errors, operating or making an incision on the wrong part of the body, mistakes during the procedure, communication mistakes, or leaving objects inside the patient after surgery. It is a surgeon’s duty to act within accepted industry standards to help ensure that none of these problems arise during an operation.

Patients are most at risk of plastic surgery errors when they entrust the procedure to a less than diligent doctor or facility. Some facilities do not have the specialists or equipment to deal with a critical emergency should it arise.  Such serious complications can commonly arise in association with the administration of anesthesia. Other acts of negligence such as inadequate training procedures, lack of communication or surgery center protocols, or surgeon negligence can all greatly increase the risk of problems, mistakes, and preventable complications. Negligent surgeons nicking arteries, damaging nerves, operating on the wrong patient or body part, or botching the cosmetic results the patient was expecting are all common reasons for medical malpractice claims.

The two most common types of plastic surgery in the United States are liposuction and breast augmentation. As with any surgical procedure, these can have complications that impact a patient’s health and well-being.

Complications from liposuction, for example, can include infection or fluid accumulation. Patients are more at risk of errors during cosmetic surgeries when they undergo multiple procedures, such as liposuction in combination with a tummy tuck procedure.