Shocking as it may sound, this story was told to me by someone in Las Vegas whose girlfriend had exactly that happen to her. While cheap plastic surgery sounds enticing at first glance, the end result could be a total disaster. It turns out that she went to a family practitioner – and not even a surgeon – for major surgery. Taking a weekend course in tummy tucks does not qualify anyone to start operating on women's bodies. A GP should be giving you your annual flu shot, not cutting you up and putting you back together!

I heard a similar story secondhand about a woman who had a botched facelift that left her with total paralysis of the left side of her face. When asked why she picked the specific doctor in Mexico, she comforted herself with the fact that, "Well, it was only $2,000 dollars." So, using her logic, you can pay less if you don't mind missing parts of your anatomy (like your belly button) or having to live with a frozen face on one side that looks like your head went through a car window. After all, what's a little belly button when at least you can slip into skinny jeans?! This is total madness.

The most dangerous assumption is that anyone with an M.D. is qualified to wield the knife that can permanently disfigure you. Wake up and smell the betadine ladies – do your homework before you jump on anyone's O.R. table!