Informed Consent for Plastic Surgery: Does It Cut Deeply Enough?

Newell provides general background information on plastic surgery addiction and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), outlines the doctrine of informed consent, and explains the learned intermediary doctrine, which, although it governs a physician's duty to warn as related to prescription pharmaceuticals and product liabilities, relates directly to patient protection for physician-based disclosures. She investigates whether physicians adequately disclose the potentially addictive nature of plastic surgery. Moreover, she examines the validity of informed consent in terms of patient competency in instances of patients suffering from BDD or plastic surgery addiction. She also explores plastic surgeons' duty to determine whether a patient suffers from the aforementioned disorders and suggests steps surgeons should take if the presence of either condition is suspected. Finally, she proposes legal mechanisms to advance the safety and best interests of plastic surgery patients, as well as the integrity of the medical profession, by ensuring plastic surgeons identify patients suffering from these disorders and refrain from performing additional procedures on them.