"We Fix Cheap Haircuts"

True story: I was walking around downtown Orlando recently, and I came across an old-time barber shop. "Haircuts for men and boys", the sign said, "eight dollars". Seemed like quite a deal.

About a block further down the same street, I came across another barber shop. This one had a sign in the window, "We fix cheap haircuts".

I laughed at the sly reference to their low-cost competition down the street. If you think about it though, the world of plastic surgery is not that different.

Sometimes the "cheap haircut" is surgery that has been performed outside of the U.S., usually in South or Central America, with the patient returning to Florida with an infection, an open incision, thick scars, or a crummy-looking result. (I've seen all of these issues!)

Sometimes the "cheap haircut" is cosmetic surgery that was performed locally, by people that advertise ridiculously low-cost liposuction or breast augmentation surgery.

These patients with complications from inexpert surgery all tell the same sad story: "It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was hoping to get a deal on cosmetic surgery....and look what happened".

Either way, the total price for the initial surgery PLUS the required fix-up procedures is far more expensive than having it done right the first time, by a real board-certified plastic surgeon in an accredited surgery facility with U.S. level standards of quality. Worse yet, sometimes the problems can't be undone.

It's unwise to gamble with cheap cosmetic surgery....or cheap haircuts, for that matter. While some patients are satisfied with their discount surgery, why spin the roulette wheel with your health? Like that old slogan, "It may cost a little more, but I'm worth it!"