Her 10 procedures, done in one day some five months ago, could potentially cause health issues from back
problems to stringy neck muscles, medical experts say.
“The extraordinarily large breast implants that she had put in are excessive for her size, and that will become
an issue in the future,” says Dr. Brian S. Glatt, board-certified plastic surgeon and director of the Premier
Plastic Surgery Center. “She can predispose herself to spine problems down the road, just from the weight
of the implants.”
Drooping breasts may also result, since the weight of the implants can stretch out the surrounding skin and
soft breast tissue, Glatt says, and if Montag decides to have a baby, she may not be able to breast-feed
because the implants are so big that they’re squeezing and putting pressure on the milk ducts.
Facial plastic surgery at such a young age (she’s 23) can sometimes cause some unwanted facial changes
over time, says Dr. Steven Pearlman, a New York City facial plastic surgeon and past president of the
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. A woman’s face changes a lot from the
20s to the 30s and beyond, he explains, in terms of fat distribution.
“You try not to get too radical in the 20s when it comes to injecting facial fat,” Pearlman says. “Anywhere
from 60 to 80 percent of the fat injected will last, and as Heidi gets older and her cheeks get thinner, she
may look abnormal.”
Liposuction done in the neck area also can backfire.
“The neck may look good now but, in 20 years, it will look skeletal,” Pearlman warns. “That’s because, as
facial fat goes away, the neck muscle is very visible right under the skin.”
The risk of infections and other complications rises when surgery takes longer than six hours, says Dr.
Angelo Cuzalina, president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.
“You are more at risk for a blood clot,” he says. “These usually occur within four weeks after surgery. The
worry is that it could release and go to the lungs, and that is life-threatening.”
Dr. Afshin Parhiscar, director of plastic surgery at Long Island College Hospital, says that, in addition to
potential medical issues, inherent psychological issues may be present in patients who have multiple plastic
surgery procedures.
“When you have someone who is unhappy with every aspect of their body and who, by most standards,
looks good to begin with, you have to wonder about their self-perception and all the issues that go with that.”
he said. “The physician wants to make sure the patient fully understands the long-term and the short-term
effects of surgery.”
The newly sculpted Montag doesn’t appear too worried about what the future holds. She recently told
People she’d been working out a lot.
“So I’m very ready for this moment,” she told the celebrity magazine.