18-year-old Stephanie Kublea died after cosmetic breast surgery. It appears she died from a rare condition called malignant hyperthermia, which can occur as a result of even properly administered anesthesia.
Although generally safe, her tragedy is an example of how even “routine” cosmetic procedures have risks, especially when general anesthesia is used.
Although it might not make a difference is some tragedies such as this one, it is always best to:
- Ask if your physician is board certified in their specialty.
- Ask how many times your physician has performed this procedure.
- Ask if the place you are having the procedure is an accredited surgery center.
- If the procedure is complicated or requires anesthesia or sedation, then ask if your physician has privileges at the local hospital.
- Above all, ask what the risks are of the procedure you are having. Death is fortunately very rare, but scarring, pain, and undesirable or unwanted cosmetic outcomes are common.
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Hi there,
First of all I would like to congratulate you on your awesome and very professional blog. It looks like you put a lot of work into it and it shows. My name is Eric and I own an online beauty store at http://www.chiactivate.com and also run a blog at chiactivate.wordpress.com. My sites receive a fair amount of traffic, but of course it always can be better and so I would like to ask you for a blog link-exchange so we can drive traffic to each others sites. Please respond to me either by email or by leaving a comment in my blog and let me know if you would like to be featured on my blog roll.
Thanks a lot and have a nice day,
Eric
Hello,
I am the PR person at Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States; wanted to say hello— Have you seen the Wall Street Journal’s THE INFORMED PATIENT By LAURA LANDRO, “A Fresh Focus On a Rare Risk Of Anesthesia”? April 30, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120950929636954247.html?mod=2_1566_le
This is a very disheartening story. How could it been diagnosed beforehand instead of following the money first.
Sad story
Thanks for sharing this with us.
SM