Plastic Surgery Tips To Avoid Becoming A Botched Case

Plastic surgery can change lives. The new E! series, "Botched", has showed just how negative that change can be if consumers aren't careful.

Plastic surgery can change lives. The new E! series, "Botched", has showed just how negative that change can be if consumers aren't careful.

Alex Lechtman, board certified plastic surgeon from Visalia, has also seen his share of botched surgeries needing fixing. Sharon Oliver went to see Dr. Letchman after her tummy tuck by a non-certified surgeon went horribly wrong.

Oliver left after her tummy yuck feeling fine. In less than a week, however, she couldn't get up to walk. At the first meeting, one week after surgery, peeling away the bandages revealed flesh rotted by a bacterial infection. Her non-certified doctor was not affiliated with a hospital, leaving Oliver to find medical help on her own.

"I don't think they thought I was going to make it," she said in an interview with Visilia Times. "When doctors were done with me, I had a section of my skin cut out all the way from my pelvic halfway up my breast. It looked like a huge flab of roast beef. I was in the hospital for a week trying to recuperate."

Being confident in your surgeon and the facility's safety are the most important factors when considering plastic surgery. Dr. Lechtman's tips are:

- Look carefully over your potential surgeon's information. Be sure that the individual's training has been completed through a university or training program certified to train plastic surgeons. In the U.S.A. the only board of certification is the American Board of Plastic Surgeons, so be sure that this title is in your surgeon's credentials.

- Get to know your surgeon. Interview with them and be sure that you feel comfortable with them. Ask about cases they've completed which are similar to your case and ask to contact past patients to see how they were treated and how their results are.

- Ask about hospital privileges. Make sure they have hospital privileges so in the event that something happens they can take care of you.