Negative plastic surgery experiences ?

I am like you....I like to have all the facts in front of me.

As with any surgery things can and sometimes do go wrong with plastic surgery.
I have been mostly very fortunate and had easy recoveries which were mostly event less.  However...I did have and still have a deep wound on my right butt cheek.  Oddly enough this have nothing to do with the incision from my LBL...it's no where near the incision but it is a nasty open wound which I have to do a wet/dry packing twice daily. 
I've had almost every procedure you can imagine and have only had this one complication so I'm still very pleased.  I'm having my last procedure (Inner Thighplasty) next month and sure hope it is a smooth one. 

I think it's good to understand what can possibly go wrong but don't get fixated on it.....complications like this are rare.

Make sure you research your surgeon....how many procedures they have done and what complications they have had.  You can also check this on your states medical board site.  I did that and found that one surgeon I was pretty interested in had a number of law suites filed against him and even had a patient die after something like a face lift.  (FYI - this is NOT the surgeon I have been using).
Best wishes on your decision and your journey!

Leah thanks for sharing your experience, and I wish you speedy healing and a quick recovery !  I am glad you spent time preparing for issues before surgery with your local docs, and hope you are back on track ASAP.  I know through your communications with me that you spent many hours preparing and doing research for your surgery.

Seromas occur quite commonly after this kind of surgery, and if germs are prresent, they can get infected.  They are so common that I perform an ultrasound in my office on nearly every postop patient with a small system I keep in the room.  My practice is to drain even small seromas early to prevent them from getting big.  Drain tubes frequently fail to remove all the fluid, even when functioning perfectly as evidenced by ultrasounds I've done while the tubes are still in.

Issues seromas and hematomas are rarely related to problems with the actual surgery, but are frequently made worse by lack of close followup.   Noobody can adequately substitute for the surgeon who did the case.

Complications happen in up to 50 - 70% of all body lifts, according to research done by Drs. Capella and Hurwitz who have some of the largest post-WLS experiences.  All patients should ask their surgeon the percentage complication rates they have for bleeding, infection, seroma, wound separation and other such issues before surgery.

Message boards and doctor review sites are really no good for this type of information.  You tend only to get individuals posting either unrealistically glowing reviews, or terrible experiences.

Whether your surgery is to be performed at home or abroad, all patients should plan for the possibility of complications and have an action plan.

I once asked my WLS Dr. how many TT he had done only after he offered to do mine for me. He just sort of laughed it off and changed the subject. Needless to say I am uncomfortable letting him do mine, so I am still researching surgeons in my area.

What do you recommend I should do to get the answers I want ? It kinda maked it awkward when they ignore you KWIM.