Consumer Alert: Illegal Silicone Injections Result...( Coalition wa...),Health

Coalition warns illicit injections are not "plastic surgery"

(Vocus) April 13, 2009 -- Accept an illicit injection and the result may not be an improved appearance, but rather death, warns the Physicians Coalition for Injectable Safety. The recent death of a Bronx, NY woman who had silicone injections to improve the shape and appearance of her thighs and buttocks is an unfortunate and repeating pattern of incidents that show the very serious dangers of illegal injections.

"This particular incident occurred in a Latino community, but these illegal and dangerous practices cross cultural and economic lines," said Coalition leader Renato Saltz, MD of Salt Lake City, UT, and President-Elect of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. "An untrained individual performing injections of unknown or non-FDA approved substances to purportedly improve appearance is a criminal act that has proved to result in complications ranging from a permanently disfigured appearance to death." Additional recent headlines surrounding illicit injections have included a pump-party bust in Miami, deaths resulting from illegal injections in Atlanta and Sacramento and disfigurement from these practices in Beverly Hills.

"The consequences of an illegal injection are far more serious than other illicit consumer buys, such as a fake designer handbag," said Laurie Casas, MD, a suburban Chicago, IL plastic surgeon and President-Elect of the Aesthetic Surgery Research and Education Foundation. "Both are illegal, but the injection carries with it serious complications that may not be correctable. If you suffer a complication there may be no way to remove the substance or to repair the damage, and as reported, the damage from these injections can result in death. There is simply no reason to take chances with you face, your body or your life."

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