17 janvier 2006 23:48
Warnings on plastic surgery mistakes
A young Australian woman has a two-centimetre bald strip across the top of her scalp after a botched eyebrow lift in Thailand.
Another returned home from an overseas breast enlargement with no cleavage as a result of a surgical error.
Both are now patients of Sydney plastic surgeon Norm Olbourne, the immediate past president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.
He's one of 36 plastic surgeons, mostly from NSW, who responded to a society email survey about having to treat complications of patients returning from cheap overseas cosmetic surgery tours.
Problems included "hideous scarring", infections in breast implants and failed tummy tucks.
Although most of the botched jobs were in Bangkok, the survey found patients had also suffered problems after surgery in the Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Iran and Ukraine.
Dr Olbourne said Australian taxpayers were sometimes having to pay, through the Medicare system, for plastic surgeons to fix the mistakes of overseas doctors.
Without wanting to over-emphasise the issue, he said it was fair to say problems occurring during overseas breast enlargements, facelifts, tummy tucks and other plastic surgery procedures were not insignificant.
"I just think it's surgical roulette," Dr Olbourne said in an interview.
"It's terrific if it works, not so if it doesn't work.
"We're doing our best to make sure people are aware that ... they should think twice."
Plastic surgeons say the implants used in breast enlargements overseas may not meet the safety standards applied by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
And overseas surgeons may fail to meet the rigorous training Australian plastic surgeons receive.
Warnings on plastic surgery mistakes
... cosmetic surgery tours. Problems included "hideous scarring", infections in breast implants and failed tummy tucks. Although most of ...
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Warnings on plastic surgery mistakes |
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Concern over botched surgery A young Australian woman has a two-centimetre bald strip across the top of her scalp after a botched eyebrow lift in Thailand. Another returned home from an overseas breast enlargement with no cleavage as a result of a surgical error. Both are now patients of Sydney plastic surgeon Norm Olbourne, the immediate past president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons. He's one of 36 plastic surgeons, mostly from NSW, who responded to a society email survey about having to treat complications of patients returning from cheap overseas cosmetic surgery tours. Problems included "hideous scarring", infections in breast implants and failed tummy tucks. Although most of the botched jobs were in Bangkok, the survey found patients had also suffered problems after surgery in the Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Iran and Ukraine. Dr Olbourne said Australian taxpayers were sometimes having to pay, through the Medicare system, for plastic surgeons to fix the mistakes of overseas doctors. Without wanting to over-emphasise the issue, he said it was fair to say problems occurring during overseas breast enlargements, facelifts, tummy tucks and other plastic surgery procedures were not insignificant. "I just think it's surgical roulette," Dr Olbourne said in an interview. "It's terrific if it works, not so if it doesn't work. "We're doing our best to make sure people are aware that ... they should think twice." Plastic surgeons say the implants used in breast enlargements overseas may not meet the safety standards applied by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). And overseas surgeons may fail to meet the rigorous training Australian plastic surgeons receive. |
