Your Surgeon Should Never Abandon You After a Complication

Some of Dr. Killeen's most-viewed videos are about surgical complications — seromas, necrosis, infections. And every week, she receives DMs and emails from patients struggling with these problems who aren't getting help from their own surgeon.

If you're being forced to DM a random surgeon on social media for help with your surgical complication, that's a serious red flag about the care you're receiving.

Almost every patient who reaches out to Dr. Killeen with an unmanaged complication falls into one of two categories:

The patient had surgery overseas or far from home (often in Florida) and either can't afford to travel back or the surgeon isn't willing to see them.

The patient went to a "chop shop" — a high-volume, low-cost chain plastic surgery clinic where follow-up care is minimal or nonexistent.

It's critical to have this conversation with your surgeon before any procedure:

• What happens if I have a complication?
• Where do I go?
• Who do I contact?

When everything goes great, anyone can look like a good surgeon. The real test is what happens when something goes wrong. Make sure you understand your surgeon's plan for managing complications before the scalpel comes out.

Another alarming pattern: patients tell Dr. Killeen that their surgeon is claiming complications like seromas, necrosis, or infections are "out of their scope of practice."

This is absolutely false. Literally anything that happens after surgery is within the operating surgeon's scope of practice. Good surgeons manage everything that happens after surgery. And if something requires additional expertise, they are the ones who should be calling in consultants and coordinating your care — not leaving you to figure it out alone.

Dr. Killeen genuinely wishes she could help every patient who reaches out, but giving medical advice through DMs is:

• Not safe — she doesn't know your history, your procedure, or what's going on
• Not legal — providing medical advice without a proper examination creates liability for everyone

What patients need is an in-person evaluation with a surgeon who can examine them, review their surgical records, and create a treatment plan.

You can teach anyone to operate, but you can't teach them how to manage complex complications — or how to be a good person. Before having surgery, make sure your surgeon is someone who will be there for you no matter what happens. A surgeon's character shows not when things go right, but when things go wrong.