Sheyla Hershey with 38KKK breast implants

Although many would argue that indulging in tales of botched plastic surgery is a waste of time, there are lessons to be learned from the often outlandish and bizarre stories, especially as it pertains to breast implant disasters.

An article in the Orange County Register pointed out that some of pop culture’s most recent breast implant catastrophes offer women considering breast augmentation three valuable lessons, if not outright warnings, regarding what NOT to do to achieve successful surgical outcomes.

Lesson One: For plastic surgery, you need a REAL plastic surgeon

When mother of four Kenyatta Brown sought breast augmentation in February 2010, she nearly bled to death during this relatively routine procedure because she chose to have the surgery done by an Atlanta eye doctor.  Enticed by the low price, Brown’s attempt to save cash by having breast augmentation done by an ophthalmologist nearly cost her life.

You wouldn’t go to a plastic surgeon for an eye exam, so don’t go to an eye doctor or any other physician practicing outside his or her specialty for breast surgery.

Breast augmentation is a plastic surgery procedure and should be performed by a surgeon certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Richard Rand is a board certified Seattle plastic surgeon with over 20 years of experience performing breast augmentation with FDA-approved saline and silicone breast implants.

Lesson Two: Be prepared for revision surgery costs and travel for follow up

British Extreme Makeover winner Nicola Stratton flew to Los Angeles for over 30 hours of plastic surgery on the hit TV show, but when she experienced common breast implant complications after surgery, she was unprepared for the required travel and expense of her breast revision surgery.

It is important that you have access to your original breast augmentation surgeon for follow up should complications or the need for revision surgery arise.  Otherwise, you may place yourself at risk for health problems if conditions like infection or hematoma go unchecked, as well as compromised aesthetic results caused by deflated or encapsulated implants.

Lesson Three: Bigger is not always better with breast implants

Sheyla Hershey, owner of the world’s biggest breast implants, has recently been making headlines again after traveling to Brazil to have her bust size increased to 38KKK using an implant size that is illegal in the U.S.

After surgery, Hershey developed a potentially fatal staph infection, and in order to combat it, the gigantic implants had to be removed.  Hershey may also lose all or part of her natural breasts as a result of the infection and will likely have to undergo additional breast revision surgery in the future.

The moral of the story here is to keep your breast augmentation goals reasonable and seek a breast implant size that fits your frame and lifestyle.

Additionally, Hershey’s story illustrates that seeking plastic surgery abroad can be risky in large part due to the fact that many countries outside the U.S. and Canada do not have laws regulating plastic surgery safety protocols, such as limits on the size of breast implants that can be used.