Analysis of Formal Complaints in 1,645 Liposuction Operations

Abstract

a total of 1,645 patients underwent primary liposuction by the fi rst author. Secondary liposuction and liposuction, combined with other procedures, were excluded. There were 1,330 women and 315 men in the group studied whose average age was 34 years. MethodsAn analysis of all completed complaint investigations within this patient cohort was undertaken.Complaints were categorized into the following:1. Aesthetic concerns. 2. Complications of surgery.3. Quality-of-care issues such as delayed time to operation with excessive waiting time on the day of surgery, criticism of the hospital facility, and service provided or criticism of staff behavior.Detailed analysis was also undertaken of the methods used to resolve complaints. All liposuction procedures were carried out as day cases under general anesthesia using a tumescent technique. RESULTSTwenty-seven formal complaints were received by the complaints department ( Table 1 ). Twenty-four complaints were made within the fi rst year of surgery and three were made within 3 years.Five complainants had issues with more than one category. Most of the formal complaints were aesthetic concerns where the patient felt that not enough benefi t was achieved. The anatomical areas that led to most formal aesthetic complaints were the hips, fl anks, and the inner thighs. Surgical complications resulted in two complaints: a mons pubis haematoma and acute urinary retention. There were three complaints related to staff being "abrupt" or "rude" or "unhelpful" and facility service. Fourteen complaints required more than one correspondence to resolve, making the average number of letters sent by the complaints department to each patient two. The time to resolution of a complaint was 6 weeks to 4 months, with P atient expectations and demands have increased throughout all medical specialties over the last decade ( Wise, 2010 ) and the analysis of complaints, adverse incidents, and measures to improve practice are now at the core of clinical governance (Patel & Morrison, 2013;VanderWal & Lens, 1995). Liposuction remains one of the most commonly performed cosmetic operations and ("UK Plastic Surgery," 2012) we decided to analyze complaints made by 1,645 patients who had undergone liposuction to identify trends and potential areas for improvement. PATIENTS AND METHODS Complaints-Handling SystemUpon admission to hospital, each patient received an information booklet that contained the address of the complaints department and was asked to write in if he or she felt dissatisfi ed with any aspect of the treatment. We defi ned formal complaints as those made in writing and sent by post to the complaints department as outlined in the booklet. A standard letter acknowledging receipt of the complaint and a promise to try and deal with it within 6 weeks was then returned to the complainant. Detailed investigation of each complaint was subsequently undertaken by the surgeon and the complaints-handling nursing team. A response was then sent to the complainant along with a follow-up clinic appointmen...

A Five-Year Survey for Plastic Surgery Malpractice Claims in Rome, Italy

“…The invalidity or inadequacy of informed consent was a recurring subject of dispute, and was frequently included among the motivations of convictions (in 34% of judgments and 48.5% of convictions), especially for cosmetic procedures, confirming the importance of acquiring an adequate consent to the treatment and the need of effective preoperative communication with the patient in order to prevent litigation, as highlighted in other studies [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Particularly, Bismark et al reported that, in 70% of cases, the complaints concerned insufficient information about the adverse effects and complications of procedures, in 39% of cases, the lack of information about the possibility of no benefit from treatment, and in 26% the inappropriate process of acquiring consent [21].…”