I ran across this news item a couple of places online and thought readers here might be interested, because it underlines again the need to make sure you hire only accredited, experienced surgeons for your plastic surgery.
According to the news, it seems that British pop star Pete Burns won £450,000 against a cosmetic surgeon for what he called a botched surgery. The money came through an out-of-court settlement rather than a jury or judge verdict.
For those who don’t know, Burns was a singer for Dead or Alive, a successful 1980s pop band. Burns, a singer for the group, has had many plastic surgery procedures done, but it was his lip filler surgery which allegedly went very wrong. The singer had already received Alloderm lip implants previously. However, Burns thought the filler failed to provide him with sufficient volume; the implants also lost some size over time.
As a result, the singer chose Dr. Maurizio Viel, a top Harley Street surgeon, to give him new lip implants seven years ago. But Burns suffered extreme reactions to these new fillers, and they left his lips blistered and swollen. Following the procedure, the singer said the treatment had caused him to look like he’d been mutilated with a knife.
Since that first botched surgery, according to Burns, he has had more than 100 operations to correct the situation created by Dr. Viel. The singer alleges that his lip implants caused him to feel suicidal. He even went so far as to say the operation caused him to lose his luxurious London home, and it significantly damaged his singing career.
For me, the most shocking part of the story is that Dr. Viel himself admitted that he ignored the warnings and instructions associated with the lip filler. According to reports, the doctor ignored a warning that Outline must not be mixed in combination with other products. He also injected other kinds of fillers after he’d already injected Outline. Finally, he’s said to have over-corrected the lip with numerous repeated injections of Outline.
If you’re interested in learning another lesson from this story, let it be this: When you meet with your plastic surgeon for the first time, make sure you completely understand what he or she plans to do. And if you feel uncomfortable with any unusual procedures that depart from the norm, look elsewhere for your surgery.
