The tragic and untimely death of entrepreneur and popular social media personality Jacklyn Jacky Oh Smith came to the shock of many, particularly since she was only 32 years old and seemingly healthy. It was even more surprising to the public when her death was reportedly linked to complications from a recent cosmetic surgery procedure she’d undergone.
Her passing opened the door to larger conversations around the dangers of plastic surgery, particularly among Black women, a group that has largely been discriminated against and neglected as patients when compared to other racial sects.
As NPR points out, Black patients’ complaints and symptoms are dismissed, their pain under-treated, and are referred less frequently for specialty care. Black women are also three times more likely to die after giving birth than white women in the United States.
With that, there are considerable concerns when Black women go under the knife for major cosmetic surgeries, like liposuction and Brazilian Butt Lifts for instance, one of the most dangerous in practice right now.
The procedure has seen explosive growth over the past decade. As Refinery29 points out, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery found that between 2015 to 2019, butt augmentation surgeries rose 90.3% and the number of Black patients shot up by 56%. Staggeringly, one in 3,000 BBLs have resulted in death.
Overall, the interest in plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures among Black women are on the rise after traditionally having little interest in making those major tweaks. With the trend continually catching on due to social media fodder and larger acceptance, surgeons are being put on notice to be more culturally competent in their practice, or at least that’s how Dr. Carl Truesdale says he feels.
“We need to show incredible care for all of our patients in a time where it’s more accessible and in more demand following the pandemic,” Truesdale tells ESSENCE, pointing out that rampant Zoom usage during shelter-in-place periods made people more aware of their looks in a way they’d never been before. He is the one of the few Black surgeons that owns a plastic surgery clinic in Beverly Hills, CA.
“I have seen an uptick in ethnic plastic surgery, It’s definitely happened,” he says. “COVID increased plastic surgery around the world because people could recover with masks, they weren’t able to travel, discretionary income they weren’t able to pay to go on a trip or go out to dinner. So they wanted to feel better about themselves. They saw themselves on camera and they recognized things that they didn’t like. And the whole world kind of had to hit pause and reflect. And that reflection led to a lot of people thinking about cosmetic plastic surgery and reaching out to have it done.”
Truesdale acknowledges that while it can be regarded as positive that Black women are taking ownership over the way want to feel about themselves, the onus is on both them and the doctors to move ethically.
“I think about my ethics every single time I pick up a blade, every single time I pick up a laser, every single time I even talk to a patient in consultation, I think about the impact of what I do.”
He shared the patients should do their due diligence before investing in getting procedures performed.
“When you’re considering who to choose, you should really be looking at doctors who have high levels of excellence and standard, and one basic way of looking at that is making sure your doctor is board-certified with a reputable board. Now, what do I mean by that? So I’m double board certified. I’m certified in both otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, as well as facial, plastic and reconstructive surgery. These boards are national organizations that create standards and guidelines and have a membership of what is deemed a safe surgeon who’s had to pass rigors of training, both written oral examination and case review. The American Academy of Plastic Surgery also has these ethical standards that good physicians should rise to the occasion. If you are a potential plastic surgery patient, Black woman, and you’re looking at getting a BBL or a facelift, your surgeon should be board certified.”
He also mentioned its helpful to gauge the doctor’s level of empathy by speaking to others’ who have been a patient.
“Your putting your body through a major operation—your doctor and their team should be stewards of care.”
