The sudden death of hip-hop star Kanye West’s mother Donda West, may have caught fans by surprise, but was not an unexpected one according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Ms. West died after undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure in Los Angeles last Saturday.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons 
says that plastic and cosmetic surgery should be treated like any other surgical procedure. ASPS reminds people that with all surgeries there is risk and recommends preliminary actions be taken by patients before undergoing any procedure. This includes informing oneself about the procedure, their health and the doctor’s previous history.
says that plastic and cosmetic surgery should be treated like any other surgical procedure. ASPS reminds people that with all surgeries there is risk and recommends preliminary actions be taken by patients before undergoing any procedure. This includes informing oneself about the procedure, their health and the doctor’s previous history. According to TMZ.com, an online news website, Ms. West was given specific instructions by the doctor who was supposed to perform the procedure. The doctor recommended that she consult another physician for other health problems before the surgery. According to CNN Ms. West dismissed these recommendations and had the procedure done by another doctor. The ASPS says there is standard information that should be discussed and understood by all patients. These details include potential risks, benefits, consequences and side effects to a surgery.
According to Medical News Today complications and deaths are rare in plastic and cosmetic surgery. However, several facilities have reported an increase in wrong site surgeries.This is accidently removing the wrong limbs, organs and performing surgeries on the wrong person. Some facilities are not required to report these accidents so many of the instances are unaccounted for. The Archives of Surgery show the likelihood of wrong site surgery occurring can be even twenty times more than what has been reported. In 2004, the Joint Commission has required doctors to mark spots that they plan to cut and verify it with the patient beforehand. However, this still causes discrepancies. Some doctors don’t mark the incision sites or make small marks that are hard to decipher. Although nurses are required to take time out in the operating room to prepare the correct site for surgery this is often ignored by doctors.
One company is trying to prevent the frequent occurrence of wrong site surgeries by marketing “Medtoos”, which are temporary tattoos used to mark patients before surgeries. Errors can occur in both intrusive and non-intrusive surgeries but who is to blame is often hard to determine.
1 comment:
I really liked the story. It's very disconcerting to hear that people we trust with our lives can be so lax in doing their jobs. It would be interesting to see exactly how may people do succumb to wrong site surgery and why people that have had it done to them don't raise a bigger stink about having a doctor report it. Good topic and good blog.
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