Surgery can be an ugly business

MANY men and women have shed blood, sweat and tears in their quest for the body beautiful. But lately it seems it is less of the sweat and more of the blood that is being lost to gain the perfect shape.

Plastic surgery clinics are on the increase. Fake breasts, lips and hips can be seen on most television programmes, while crows' feet have all but walked away on many celebrity faces.

And it is little wonder considering the number of adverts in the back of glossy magazines and in newspapers that declare cosmetic surgery to be as easy and normal as popping down to the chemist to buy a new lipstick.

But Swindon clinical negligence solicitor Denise Broomfield fears that as the demand for surgery increases, so too are the number of plastic surgery horror stories.

Mrs Broomfield, 40, who has a 100 per cent record for winning cases she has taken to court, works for SJ Edney solicitors in Fleming Way. It recently set up a designated department dealing with claims resulting from cosmetic surgery. Five years ago she expected to deal with around two claims a year but now the average is nine.

She said: "The reality is customers are being sold a product that could never make them look like their dream, that going to a gym three times a week could produce a similar result over time and that a short stay in hospital often means they will be discharged before it can be established whether there is likely to be any side effects."

And it is these devastating side effects that Mrs Broomfield knows only too well.

"I have seen some awful cases where infection has spread and left massive scarring and the need for several further operations," she said. "It makes me feel so sad, especially when a lot of the clients are young women with their whole lives ahead of them.

"Many people have cosmetic surgery, not out of vanity, but because something is getting them down, whether it be large breasts or protruding ears.

"Some of the worst cases I have dealt with over the years involve breast reductions. A lot of women are in pain because their breasts are causing them backache.

"But the operation involves so many incisions that the risk of infection is increased."

She explained how breast reductions involve cutting all along the underside of both breasts, unlike breast enlargements where one slit is made to insert an implant.

"An incision is also made from the nipple down and the nipples are cut off. Sometimes they are put back on upside down, or too much breast is removed and they are replaced in the wrong position.

"The worst case I have seen was a woman who had vaginaplasty and ended up paralysed in a wheelchair. The epidural had been wrongly administered and as a result she can never walk again."

Mrs Broomfield said although there are some excellent plastic surgeons around, operations were very unlikely to be performed by a cosmetic surgeon.

"In the UK there is no separate specialism. General surgeons who spend most of their NHS time removing appendix and gall bladders can also undertake cosmetic surgery, even though it is not their main specialism.

"More frighteningly if a surgeon is operating out of their field, their professional indemnity insurance may not cover them."

The most common cases Denise deals with are:

Breast reductions

Adominoplasty

Breast enlargements

Liposuction

penoplasty

Infection

"It is often not caused by negligence but is naturally arising and would have occurred had the patient received the best care.

"The problem with plastic surgery is that the patient is often discharged before the infection shows itself, and the patient starts to feel ill days later.

"Some clinics have nurses on hand but others I have acted for have found the doctor gone, the clinic closed and no aftercare available. They could find themselves back in hospital, having major surgery.

"They could end up having their stomach wall tied together with wire mesh and numerous skin grafts."

Check your surgeon . .

As a clinical negligence solicitor Denise has had a particular interest in cases involving women's health for a number of years.

"I see first hand disfigurement that a women and men face after poorly performed plastic surgery.

"The most common problems are infection, undesired result and risks from general anaesthetic."

Denise says a few precautions taken beforehand could save a lot of pain and misery later.

See how much plastic surgery work they carry out. Check if they work within the NHS as well as privately, because the NHS monitors the performance of its surgeons and they are likely to have a higher standard.

Denise said: "If the doctor doing your operation only does private work it might not be a problem if they are recently retired but be wary of the surgeon who only performs private operations.

"They are not regulated in the way that NHS doctors are and stand more chance of being out of date.

"This warning is not a miserable attempt to stop women or men trying to improve their appearance it is the voice of experience."

Marvellous Mel . . .

Swindon beauty Melinda Messenger had her breasts enlarged and shot to fame in the 1990s for her daring poses in red top tabloids.

She has since become a successful television presenter, and earlier this year was voted Celebrity Mum of the Year.

Her career took off in 1996 when she underwent a £3,000 breast enlargement increasing her bra size from a C to DD cup

She modelled in a poster campaign for Glevum windows - a Swindon double glazing firm wearing only bra and pants with the slogan "Class Behind Glass."

The posters became hot property in Wiltshire and kept disappearing from bus shelters.

After several complaints the posters were banned. Her story was picked up by the Daily Star who booked her for a photo session and made a centre spread in January 1997.