How Can a Nose Job Cause Deaths?

First and foremost, it is important to note that death during rhinoplasty is extremely rare. In my opinion, the risk of death present during the procedure should not be a major deterrent from your decision to have the surgery. Still, that being said, it is in fact true that a patient can die while undergoing a nose job. The most common cases of death occur because of complications with anesthesia, excessive bleeding, or as the result of a previous, unrelated health concern. It is for this reason that I always advise my patients to undergo a full health examination before committing to a nose job and am sure to ask for full disclosure before recommending a rhinoplasty procedure. I advise my patients the safest anesthesia is where the airway is protected with endotracheal intubation. I would not perform a rhinoplasty under sedation or local anesthesia because the airway is not secure and the patient can have more risk.

This risk is largely associated with a severe adverse problem with anesthesia, rather than the surgery itself. Since rhinoplasty is performed on relatively young and healthy people, it is possible that latent and congenital diseases may present for the first time, or become exacerbated by the stress of surgery. If you have no family history of allergies to general anesthetic, like malignant hyperthermia or pseudocholinesterase deficiency, and if you are otherwise healthy, surgery with a reputable rhinoplasty specialist and anesthesiologist should be well tolerated.

It is an unfortuante reality that death can happen during any surgical procedure. The risk of death during a rhinoplasty is no greater than any other procedure. There is no exact number available to indicate the risk of death during rhinoplasty. For a healthy individual the risks are negligible.
The biggest risk would be related to anesthesia. The risk of death from rhinoplasty is related to osteotomies (Breaking the bones) which can cause brain injury or severe bleeding after surgery. You should not be afraid but aware of these risks. The best way to protect yourself is to find a good surgeon and then follow her/his instructions carefully.

 

Regards

Dr. J

 

Disclaimer: This answer is not intended to give a medical opinion and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

 

Death would be a very rare complication and if it does occur it would typically be an anesthesia complication.  Yoy have the option to use IV sedation which is safer than a general anesthesia

Death is a very rare event  after elective surgery when performed an a healthy prepared patient in a well controlled operating room and with an experienced anesthetist. The risk is less than getting into a fatal auto accident, and yet you drive every day.

Dear MyLife21,


Death after a rhinoplasty is extraordinarily rare

It usually happens when a serious medical condition is not diagnosed properly or when people do not pay attention to certain medical problems

If you are a healthy person, it is more dangerous driving your car to the surgery center than it is to have a rhinoplasty...just to put things in perspective


Best regards,

Nima Shemirani

Rhinoplasty is an extremely safe and reproducible operation from an anesthetic standpoint. It is extremely unusual to have a death from a rhinoplasty, and having the surgery is safer than driving home from work every day. However, even though it's nearly impossible, it is not impossible. We check all of our patients and make sure they get a medical clearance before surgery to make sure they are safe and medically optimized before considering surgery. With the proper checks and proper anesthesia team, the chance of death with such an elective procedure is on the order of 1 in 1 million.
-Dr. David Mattos, New York Plastic Surgical Group

Death associated with rhinoplasties is extremely rare, and should by no means be a major deterrent from the possibly life-changing surgery. Still, to answer your question, death as a result of a nose job is typically caused by an underlying medical condition that may or may not have been disclosed to the surgeon whether intentionally or unintentionally. As long as you are in good health and are sincere with your doctor, you should not be worried about the rare possibility of death from a rhinoplasty surgery.

One of the most important factors when considering the safety of cosmetic surgery is the proper screening of patients. If a physician has thorough history and physical exam practices he or she will pick up health conditions that would put a patient at risk for complications during surgery. Most of these complications are related to anesthesia. Most surgeons routinely due blood work, EKG's, and chest X-rays, depending on the age of the patient. These simple tests will indicate whether or not the patients heart, lungs, kidneys, liver etc are healthy and able to tolerate anesthesia. Beyond these screening measures it is important that the surgery center is accredited and all staff are properly qualified to be working their. If these conditions are met the chances of having a catastrophic event such as death are very low. Keep in mind that it is still surgery and it is impossible to eliminate the risk of death.

There are many risks in life, cosmetic surgery is elective, so I am very careful to make sure you are healthy and I have an excellent anesthesiologist to care for you during surgery. But as in life, many unexpected things can happen and death can occur --- but it is VERY UNCOMMON.  The quoted statistics for all surgeries ( not just cosmetic) are 1 death per 1,000,000  or 1/100,000  surgeries.