Breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures performed each year in Ireland.
Duty of Care of Cosmetic Surgeon
Undergoing any kind of surgical procedure is always a matter of serious consideration. Altering one’s body even for aesthetic purposes, demands the guidance of an experienced professional.
Simple and straightforward procedures can result in significant problems for people if they are performed negligently.
As with all procedures, cosmetic surgeons are required to obtain a patients informed consent in advance of performing a procedure. This means that they are required to advise the patient of all risks and possible complications that are associated with the intended breast augmentation procedure before allowing the patient to undergo the operation. Failure to fully inform a patient and to get informed consent can result in a claim for cosmetic negligence if the procedure has been negligently carried out,
Every medical practitioner including a plastic or cosmetic surgeon has a duty of care towards a patient to provide an adequate service. Failing in that duty of care by causing avoidable harm to a patient can be a valid reason to a claim of cosmetic negligence compensation*.
Our team are here to help you if you experienced negligent treatment during:
- Breast enlargement
- Breast uplift ( Mastopexy)
- Implant revision
- Nipple reduction
Common Causes of Breast Implants Complications
Cosmetic negligence can occur due to the incorrect insertion of breast implants and sometimes poor management of the complications can provide grounds for a compensation claim.
Breast implant complications that give rise to cosmetic negligence claims include:
- Capsular Contracture – when the layer of scar tissue that the body normally grows around the implant contracts, resulting in the implant being an odd shape or being hard. This can be very painful and the implant may have to be removed and replaced
- A leaking implant
- A swollen breast
- A deflated implant – when an implant leaks its contents leading to a flat implant.
- Bleeding into the breast tissue causing swollen, painful breasts
- Haematoma
- Infection of the breast – either where the incision was made to insert the implant or inside the breast caused by non- sterile implant being inserted- which can result in unsightly scarring after the operation
- Impaired ability to breast feed – either reduced milk production or total inability to produce milk
- Reduction/loss of nipple sensation
- Visible implants causing creasing or rippling of the breast.
- Long term pain and suffering – either caused by the implant or a mistake in the cosmetic procedure
- Abnormal shaped breast – such as one breast dropping, or one sitting higher than the other.
- A ruptured implant – when the implant bursts due to some force for example, a car crash. A ruptured breast implant are common reasons why people take breast augmentation compensation claims. Depending on the type of breast implant you have it can be a significant health hazard.
Types of breast implants
Saline filled implants
These implants generally leak very quickly. The saline solution inside the implant is harmless to the human body. However, in older implants there can be some mould, yeast or bacteria that escapes into the blood stream, potentially causing illness.
Silicon filled implants
These implants will generally leak more slowly and might not cause the change of the breast to change quickly to make it instantly noticeable. When silicon leaks from the implant, it can get into the bloodstream, in toxic levels.
PIP Breast Implant
Many years ago breast augmentation claims arose due to the use of the older Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) implants. In 2010 these type of implants were banned as it was found they contained a numerous amount of dangerous chemicals. There had also been many cases of low quality copies of these French made breast implants being sold on the black market and finding their way into Irish cosmetic surgery clinics. If you have been affected by the insertion of these PIP implants please contact our legal team.
To maintain a claim for compensation arising from an unsatisfactory breast augmentation procedure you will need to show:
- Negligence was the cause of your injuries. The general measurement of negligence is based on a comparison of expected results from a suitably qualified / experienced surgeon.
- The surgeon fell below the requisite standard of care and skill in carrying out the procedure
- Your treatment was not performed to the expected standard regarding an unfulfilled duty of care, for example, failure to provide you with the warnings and risks of procedure, unfulfilled promises or basic hygiene issues leading to infection and other complications
- A defective implant was used
- Inadequate aftercare from the medical professionals.
There a number of different types of damage for which a plaintiff may seek compensation arising from a negligently conducted breast augmentation procedure. These include:
General Damages
- For physical pain of the injury or illness;
- For any long term, or permanent physical effects; and/or
- Psychological injury and mental distress
Special Damages
- For corrective procedures;
- Travel costs;
- For loss of future loss of earnings;
- Counselling costs; and /or
- To reimburse you for any other financial loss
The consequence of a breast augmentation procedure going wrong can have serious and devastating effects on the individual, causing physical and emotional suffering, as well as a financial burden to get it fixed. By making a cosmetic negligence claim we can help you to obtain adequate compensation to proceed with corrective procedure, treatments and any counselling you may need.
