What Does Botched Mean in Plastic Surgery?

Thanks to the TV show of the same name, the word "botched" gets thrown around with regularity these days in reference to both plastic surgery and surgery of other specialties. But what does botched really mean? Is it anytime that a patient doesn't like the outcome of their surgery? Is it only reserved for surgeries where there is death or disfigurement? In Episode 1 of Nip Talk, plastic surgeon Dr. Bruce Hermann gives the definition of botched as interpreted by the majority of surgeons.

"Botched is when you have an unexpected and very poor outcome of (plastic) surgery due to bad planning and/or bad technique by the surgeon."

The term botched carries a very negative connotation, so therefore the result has to be one that the overwhelming majority of people would find to be of very poor quality. The word also infers that there was some error involved with that of the surgeon, whether it is in the form of bad planning or bad execution of the surgery. Simply having a known complication of a surgery would not signify that a surgery was botched, as complications can occur even when surgery and patient fulfill their duties in a manner to minimize the risk of complications as much as possible.

In this episode of Nip Talk, Dr. Hermann goes on to give a surgeon's advice to patients on how to avoid having a "botched" surgery experience. Check out this and other episodes of Nip Talk to learn more about plastic surgery, health, beauty, and lifestyle.