Kimberly Garrison: Plastic surgery has a dangerous downside

REPORTS HAVE BEEN flying everywhere about Tameka Foster, wife of R&B artist Usher, who suffered complications from plastic surgery. I was shocked and disappointed when I heard the news.

I was shocked that a doctor would even consider doing such an operation on a woman who'd so recently given birth, and I was disappointed by Tameka's apparent lack of judgment and common sense.

What was she thinking when she scheduled abdominal liposuction just two months after giving birth to her fifth child? According to news reports, Foster went to Brazil for this cosmetic procedure, which almost ended in tragedy when she unexpectedly suffered cardiac arrest and other complications while receiving anesthesia before the surgery even began.

Thank goodness she is recovering. She was released from the hospital on Tuesday.

This is just one more example of why you shouldn't go under the knife unless you absolutely, positively have to.

Boy, what short memories we all have. Have we already forgotten about Kanye West's mom, Donda, who had a heart attack and died following plastic surgery in 2007?

Did we forget about the devastating loss of Stephanie Kuleba, the high school cheerleader from Boca Raton, Fla., who suffered a fatal reaction to anesthesia last March during "routine" corrective breast surgery?

I contacted one of my doctor friends, who asked to remain anonymous, and she said, "It is absolutely ludicrous for women to think they can get rid of the baby fat overnight. When it comes to losing the baby fat, slow and steady exercise plus portion control wins the race."

Just because celebrities are applauded for getting back their buff bodies right after giving birth doesn't mean new moms should rush out for cosmetic surgery. Here are some important reasons why (some of these also apply to anyone considering unnecessary surgery):

Your body isn't back to normal: Six weeks after giving birth, women are still in a hyper-coagulative state (excessive blood clotting) that could be life-threatening.

Let the uterus recover: It takes time for the uterus to get back into place. How much time could vary, depending on whether you had a vaginal birth, pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes, or a Caesarean section. Sometimes it takes months.

A is for anesthesia: According to many experts, the biggest risk during plastic surgery is anesthesia.

The Web site liposuction.com says: "Liposuction surgery can be accomplished safely by general anesthesia or by local anesthesia. However, general anesthesia is more dangerous. Virtually all liposuction deaths that have ever been reported have been associated with systemic anesthesia."

More lipo dangers: If that weren't enough, because liposuction breaks the body's normal architecture, there's a danger - though rare - that dislodged fat particles could cause fatal blockages in the bloodstream.

As a personal trainer, I have worked with many women who had liposuction and cosmetic procedures and were less than satisfied with the bumps, rippling or loose skin and asymmetry that are common unwanted results.

Thankfully, Foster is on the road to recovery. I hope her close call will serve as a lesson to us all. *

Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia (www.1on1ultimatefitness.com). E-mail her at

kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com. Her column appears each Thursday in Yo!