Support & Recovery
You do not have to figure everything out at once.
When cosmetic surgery results in a serious complication, injury, unexpected hospitalization, disability, or death, patients and families may suddenly have to navigate medical care, records, grief, financial concerns, complaints, and questions about their rights.
Start with what you need most right now.
Choose what you need
Serious or rapidly worsening symptoms need medical attention first.
Emergency guidanceFind guidance on care, records, documentation, advocacy, and reporting.
Help after a complicationFind grief support, practical next steps, and record-preservation guidance.
Help after a lossFind crisis support, counseling resources, grief groups, and family help.
Find emotional supportImmediate medical danger
Do not delay emergency medical treatment while waiting for a cosmetic-surgery office or clinic to respond.
Warning signs can include:
This website cannot evaluate symptoms or determine whether a condition is an emergency. When in doubt about a serious or rapidly worsening condition, seek qualified emergency care.
Review MedlinePlus emergency warning signsAfter a serious complication
Medical care comes before complaints, money, blame, or legal questions. If the situation is not an immediate emergency but you are concerned about a complication, seek evaluation from an appropriately qualified medical professional. An independent medical evaluation may be appropriate when serious questions remain about care received from the original provider.
Address immediate health concerns. Do not rely only on the clinic that performed the procedure if you believe you have a serious complication.
Request relevant operative, anesthesia, consent, laboratory, imaging, medication, discharge, follow-up, emergency, hospital, and billing records.
Keep original emails, text messages, portal messages, photographs, receipts, advertisements, financing documents, instructions, names, dates, and times. Create backups and do not alter originals.
Record: date → time → location → person involved → what happened → what you were told → what happened next.
Medical harm can affect emotional health as well as physical health. Counseling, patient advocacy, family help, or peer support may be useful.
Depending on what happened, a facility, licensing board, health department, accreditor, or federal product-safety program may be relevant. A report does not automatically establish negligence or malpractice.
A qualified attorney can evaluate individual circumstances. The Foundation does not determine whether anyone has a valid legal claim.
Federal HIPAA rules generally give individuals, with limited exceptions, a right to inspect and receive copies of medical and billing records held by covered providers and health plans.
Surgery outside the United States
Share the procedure, country, facility, date, surgeon, medications, implants or devices if known, and when symptoms began. Bring any available records.
CDC identifies infection, drug-resistant organisms, blood clots, wound problems, and other complications among medical-tourism risks and advises people not to delay care when a complication is suspected.
CDC medical-tourism informationFor families after a death
An unexpected death after an elective procedure can leave a family grieving while also facing medical, funeral, financial, administrative, and sometimes legal questions. Whenever possible, ask a trusted person to help with calls, documents, transportation, meals, childcare, and immediate responsibilities.
Emotional, grief, and family support
Choose the kind of support that fits you and your family. Peer groups do not replace professional counseling or emergency help. Organization names are shown for identification; listing does not imply endorsement or partnership.
Free, confidential support is available 24/7/365 for emotional distress, mental-health struggles, substance-use concerns, or when you need someone to talk to.
Call or text 988
Call, text, or chat with 988Connect with confidential local help for housing, food, transportation, health care, family services, and other community needs.
Call 211
Find local helpPeer-led chapters and online communities after the death of a child, grandchild, or sibling.
877-969-0010
Find a chapterGrief resources, peer-support directories, and tools for children, teens, young adults, parents, and caregivers.
503-775-5683
Explore grief resourcesVirtual grief resources and community support, including options for people who may not have a nearby group.
Find online supportCommunity, education, and virtual or local resources for widows. Some offerings may be paid.
Find your communityChristian grief-support groups online and in local communities. Choose this resource according to your beliefs and preferences.
Find a groupInformation and resource navigation Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET. This is not a crisis line and does not provide counseling.
800-950-NAMI (6264)
Text NAMI to 62640
Free, confidential treatment referral and information for mental health and substance use concerns, available 24/7.
1-800-662-HELP (4357)
Find treatment and supportPatient advocacy after medical harm
These independent organizations provide education or advocacy resources. Listing them does not imply a guarantee or endorsement of individual services.
Patient-led information about steps after medical harm, complaints, records, and patient-safety concerns.
Visit PSANPatient-safety education, advocacy resources, and support for navigating health-care systems.
516-579-4711
Visit PulseA nonprofit advocacy organization offering education and pathway information after medical harm. NMMAA is not a law firm.
Visit NMMAAReporting what happened
Filing a complaint is different from filing a lawsuit. A complaint may lead to investigation or regulatory review, but it does not automatically establish malpractice or provide compensation.
Use the relevant state licensing authority. The Federation of State Medical Boards provides a nationwide directory.
Find a state medical boardAsk the organization for Patient Relations, a patient advocate, Risk Management, Quality and Patient Safety, or its administrator. A state health department or facility regulator may also apply.
The Joint Commission accepts patient-safety concerns involving organizations it accredits. It is not a health-care provider.
Report to The Joint CommissionPatients and consumers can voluntarily report serious reactions, product-quality problems, and device concerns to FDA MedWatch.
Open FDA MedWatchThe HHS Office for Civil Rights provides information about health-information privacy complaints.
HHS complaint informationFederal protections may apply to some emergency or out-of-network bills. The CMS No Surprises Help Desk is available at 1-800-985-3059.
Review medical-bill rightsFlorida resources
Florida’s portal routes complaints involving health-care practitioners or businesses to the appropriate state agency.
Open the Florida complaint portalConnects consumers with verified Florida attorneys by legal issue and location. The service states that a referred 30-minute consultation costs no more than $25.
1-800-342-8011
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Legal information
Information only — not legal advice.
Depending on the circumstances and the law of the applicable jurisdiction, a qualified attorney may evaluate issues involving medical negligence or malpractice, wrongful death, informed consent, products or devices, facility responsibility, consumer law, or other possible civil claims.
A complication, injury, or death does not automatically mean malpractice occurred.
Deadlines and procedures vary by jurisdiction. Anyone seeking individualized legal advice should consult an appropriately licensed attorney promptly.
ABA lawyer-referral directory Free or low-cost legal-help resources Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor contact informationThis external law-firm listing is provided for information only. The Foundation does not endorse or recommend a particular attorney or law firm. Following the link or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Financial and practical help after a death
Government guidance on death certificates, agencies to notify, survivor benefits, and related practical steps.
Open USAGov guidanceEligible spouses, children, divorced spouses, or dependent parents may qualify based on a deceased worker’s record.
Review survivor benefitsConsumer education about funeral choices and costs. The organization does not pay funeral or burial expenses.
802-865-8300
Open funeral consumer resourcesSupporting the whole family
Spouses, partners, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, caregivers, and friends may also need support.
Protect your privacy
Do not submit medical records, diagnoses, treatment photographs, test results, insurance information, Social Security numbers, or other private health or identity information through the general contact form.
The Foundation is not a medical provider, law firm, emergency service, or secure medical-record repository.
Read the contact and privacy guidanceOne step at a time
This page is a resource directory, not a substitute for qualified medical, mental-health, legal, or emergency services.