Symptoms and signs you should never ignore from a Plastic Surgeons point of view
When thinking of Plastic surgeons, sometimes the general public ignore the fact that we are, first and foremost, medical doctors. The health and wellbeing of our patients is paramount. Not everyone is a good candidate for elective cosmetic surgery especially if they have underlying health issues. I often delay or refuse to operate on patients who need to become healthier before I commit to an elective procedure. Some medical conditions cannot and should not wait to be seen to. As with most issues relating to health, the sooner you seek treatment, the less invasive and involved the treatment needs to be. I have created a list of signs and symptoms NEVER to ignore pertaining specifically to my field of medicine. I have divided the list into two categories.
Pre-surgical symptoms – symptoms you may experience/discover spontaneously without it being related to a recent surgical procedure & Post-surgical symptoms – symptoms you may experience soon after having a surgical procedure.
Please seek medical advice WITHOUT DELAY should you experience any of the following:
Pre-surgical symptoms:
Any mole or skin lesion that bleeds or makes a scab but doesn’t heal
Any dark mole that seems to be growing or changing
Any white patch or sore in your mouth, nose or lip that doesn’t heal- even (particularly) if its painless
Any swollen gland you haven’t noticed before- Groin, Neck, Armpit
Any (and I mean any) new BREAST Lump
Any hardening or shape change of an augmented breast
Any nipple discharge outside of breast-feeding- Especially if its blood-stained
If a nipple becomes inverted or retracted when it was previously normal
Post-surgical symptoms:
Any fever or shaking chills
Any spreading redness or “orange-peel” skin change
Any increasing swelling or bruising beyond 3 days post op
Any worsening pain- particularly if it is throbbing in nature
Any purulent discharge from any would.
Any new bleeding
