Cosmetic Surgery Risks & Complications: What Every Procedure Carries

General Risks Common to Most Surgical Procedures

As a general principle reflected in NHS.uk's overview of cosmetic procedures¹, the risks below apply to most surgical cosmetic procedures, regardless of the specific operation:

• Bleeding and haematoma. Some bruising and oozing is normal. A haematoma — blood collecting under the skin that may need draining — is one of the most frequently reported complications after surgery, and can occasionally require a return to theatre.
• Infection. Wound infections range from minor (treated with antibiotics) to more serious infections needing further treatment, occasionally including further surgery. Good aftercare and wound hygiene reduce the chance, but cannot eliminate it entirely.
• Scarring. All surgical incisions leave a scar. How visible it becomes depends on technique, incision placement, skin type, healing and aftercare — it is never fully avoidable, and some individuals form thicker (hypertrophic or keloid) scars regardless of technique.
• Anaesthetic risk. Any anaesthetic — local, sedation or general — carries some risk, from minor reactions to rare serious events. See Anaesthetic Options & Safety for a full breakdown of types, qualifications and risks.
• Venous thromboembolism (VTE). Blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) that can, rarely, travel to the lungs (pulmonary embolism). NICE guidance on reducing hospital-acquired VTE⁴ notes that risk rises with surgery length, reduced mobility afterwards, and individual factors such as smoking, higher BMI, or combining multiple procedures in one longer operation.
• Unsatisfactory aesthetic result. Even with no medical complication, the outcome may not match what was expected — asymmetry, over- or under-correction, or a result that settles differently than hoped.
• Nerve changes and altered sensation. Numbness, tingling or altered sensation near an incision is common in the weeks after surgery and usually settles; occasionally it is more persistent, depending on the procedure and technique.
• Need for revision. Some of the above can lead to a second operation. Read Revision Surgery: When It's Needed and How Long to Wait for timing and cost implications.

Procedure-Specific Risk Notes

BAAPS's index of procedure-specific patient information² links out to pages that set out risk profiles specific to each operation, in addition to the general list above. This page deliberately keeps these brief — each linked guide covers its own risk profile in full detail:

• Rhinoplasty: breathing changes in a small proportion of patients, and results that continue settling for up to a year before a true final outcome is visible. See Nose Job Before & After for realistic timelines and Revision Rhinoplasty for how often revision is needed.
• Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery): dry eye and, less commonly, lower-lid retraction or ectropion (a slight pulling-down of the lower lid) — see Ptosis vs Excess Skin for why an accurate diagnosis before surgery matters to the risk picture.
• Breast augmentation: capsular contracture, implant rupture over time, and BIA-ALCL, a rare lymphoma linked mainly to textured implants. Read Breast Implant Illness & BIA-ALCL for the full picture, including why implants are not lifetime devices.
• Breast reduction and breast lift: changes to nipple sensation, and a small risk to breastfeeding ability in future — worth discussing specifically if this matters to you. See Breast Reduction.
• Labiaplasty: altered sensation and, rarely, over-resection affecting comfort or function — a procedure where realistic expectations and surgeon experience both matter considerably. See Labiaplasty.
• Gynecomastia surgery: contour irregularity and nipple sensation changes; recurrence is possible where an underlying hormonal cause isn't addressed first. See Gynecomastia.
• Buccal fat removal: an irreversible procedure — over-removal can leave a gaunt appearance that becomes more apparent with natural facial volume loss over the following decades. See Buccal Fat Removal.
• Neck lift, brow lift and otoplasty: each carries specific nerve-related risks — facial nerve branches for neck and brow lift, and cartilage-shape irregularities for otoplasty. See the respective procedure guides linked from Neck Lift, Brow Lift and Otoplasty.

Combining Procedures: Added Risk to Weigh

Having more than one procedure performed under a single anaesthetic — sometimes marketed as a "mommy makeover" or combined body-contouring session — is not automatically unsafe, but it does extend surgery and anaesthetic time, and NICE guidance identifies longer surgery duration as one of the factors that increases VTE risk⁴. A responsible surgeon and anaesthetist will weigh the convenience of combining procedures against this added risk for your specific case, and may recommend staging procedures separately rather than combining them, particularly where individual risk factors are already present.

How Surgeons and Clinics Reduce Risk

Risk cannot be reduced to zero, but it can be managed. The main levers are:

• Patient selection. A responsible surgeon declines or delays surgery where health, medication or expectations make the risk-benefit balance unfavourable — see Am I Suitable?.
• A named anaesthetist. A separate, GMC-registered anaesthetist assesses fitness for anaesthesia and manages it throughout — check their registration as you would the surgeon's. See Anaesthetic Options & Safety.
• VTE risk assessment. A pre-operative check of individual clotting risk factors, in line with NICE guidance⁴, allowing measures such as compression stockings, early mobilisation, or preventive medication to be used where appropriate.
• An accredited, CQC-registered facility. In England, clinics performing surgery must be CQC-registered; CQC guidance for providers on cosmetic surgery³ sets out the standards on infection control, staffing and emergency processes that inspections check against. See CQC-Registered Clinics.

Warning Signs That Need Urgent Attention

Most post-surgical symptoms are manageable and expected. A smaller set of symptoms should never be watched-and-waited on, whatever the procedure:

• Calf pain, swelling, redness or warmth — possible DVT. Contact your clinic or GP the same day.
• Sudden breathlessness, chest pain, or coughing up blood — possible pulmonary embolism. This needs emergency assessment; call 999.
• Rapidly increasing swelling, severe pain, or a wound that looks like it's opening — possible haematoma or wound breakdown. Contact your clinic urgently, same day.
• Fever, spreading redness, or pus — possible spreading infection needing prompt clinical review, not a routine follow-up slot.

For anything severe or rapidly worsening, NHS 111 can advise on whether you need same-day care, and 999 remains appropriate for the most serious presentations — chest pain, breathlessness, or signs of severe illness following recent surgery.

A Realistic Framing — Neither Minimised nor Sensationalised

Most complications reported after cosmetic surgery are minor — managed with simple treatment, extra dressing changes, or a short course of antibiotics — and resolve without lasting effect. Serious complications are uncommon but real, and no reputable surgeon or clinic will promise a risk-free outcome. Understanding the general list above, reading the procedure-specific notes relevant to you, and asking your own surgeon what their personal experience of these risks has been, is a more useful basis for decision-making than either dismissing risk altogether or assuming the worst. If a result or a complication does need addressing afterwards, When Cosmetic Surgery Goes Wrong covers what can be done and how to complain if needed.

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