The phrase 'illegal plastic surgery' may conjure up images of a back-alley operation performed in some exotic foreign country, without modern surgical tools or anesthesia – but in fact thousands of illegal plastic surgery procedures are performed every year right in the United States.
Such procedures may be performed in a hotel room, a doctor's office, or nearly anywhere else that can accommodate a makeshift 'operating table.' Though some of the procedures are performed by licensed medical doctors, others are performed by nurses or even those with zero medical training. Some forms of illegal plastic surgery include procedures that themselves are illegal, while others are common procedures such as breast lifts or rhinoplasty, performed by a surgeon who is not qualified.
Why would anyone undergo illegal plastic surgery? Some are drawn by the low cost. By avoiding overhead – expenses like a hospital room or an anesthesiologist – illegal plastic surgery is usually available at a much lower cost, sometimes as low as 5 or 10 percent what a fully qualified surgeon would charge for the same procedure. Others wish to have procedures that are not legal in the United States, such as polypropylene breast implants, which grow dangerously large over time. There are other reasons to undergo illegal surgery, too. Perhaps the patient is new to the country and does not understand the medical system and the illegality of back-alley surgeries, or is afraid of visiting a doctor because of their immigration status.
The risks of an unsafe procedure performed by an unskilled surgeon are great. If complications arise on the operating table, the patient may not have access to emergency medical care. The 'operating room' may not be sterilized, leading to infection and other risks. The aesthetic results are often worse due to an unskilled surgeon or rushed procedure. In some cases, patients have even died due to complications of illegal plastic surgery. All of these risks underscore the need to fully investigate any surgeon before allowing them to perform your cosmetic surgery procedure.
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