The rush to look good

The clinic in Mandaluyong City where a female patient died while undergoing three beautification procedures –liposuction, breast and butt augmentation – has finally been shut down by the local government. It turns out that after close scrutiny, the documents of the clinic were in question. Apparently there are two different owners/operators of the clinic, something that has raised red flags.

The doctors who performed the procedures are asking for more time to submit their affidavits. Surely they are consulting the best legal advice to help them get out of culpability. While the clinic has assured full cooperation in the investigation, and is offering as much help as it can give to the family of Shiryl Saturnino, it is seeing to it that it can defend itself from criminal accountability. Many are asking why the patient was subjected to three procedures in one schedule, when the three procedures could have been fanned out on different days. While I am not a doctor, any procedure, no matter how minor, takes its toll on the body. People react differently to stress, and surgeries or minor procedures do stress out the body. In the case of Shiryl, the length of time she was under anesthesia, along with the three procedures themselves may have contributed to her body shutting down. Autopsy results indicate "multiple organ failure secondary to complications of cosmetic surgical procedures", indicating her body just could not cope with the multiple procedures.

It is ironic that Shiryl opted for these beauty treatments to help in her business of selling cosmetic and beauty products. She wanted to be the best endorser for her products. But to perish while undergoing beauty treatments has put the whole industry in the spotlight. Is it really safe to perform these procedures outside of a hospital environment? The doctors who were trying to revive Shiryl when her heart stopped beating had to call for assistance from a hospital, but it was to no avail. If Shiryl were in an actual hospital, with all its life-saving devices and medications within reach, could she have been saved?

This is certainly not the first incident where a beauty treatment has gone horribly wrong, but we really hope it is the last. The government, along with the medical community, should look into the wisdom of allowing such procedures outside a hospital setting. There are many clinics in the country that offer similar procedures. I understand the Department of Health issues permits to clinics for them to perform ambulatory surgical services. Perhaps it is time to revisit the issuing of these permits. Clinics should probably be required to have the best equipment to deal with emergencies such as what happened to Shiryl. It may not be enough for cosmetic surgeons and anesthesiologists to be present during procedures. Specialized practitioners in the field of emergency medicine should be present as well. The fact that the doctors who worked on Shiryl had to call for outside help proves this. Or better yet, the more complicated procedures should be performed in a hospital setting. The wisdom of performing three procedures in one go should also be looked into. There is an old saying, "Rome was not built in a day". The rush to look good may have a deadly consequence.

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