title: Cosmetic surgery: medicolegal considerations.
abstract: Cosmetic surgery is one of the two branches of plastic surgery. The characteristic of non-necessity of this surgical speciality implies an increased severity in the evaluation of the risk-benefit balance. Therefore, great care must be taken in providing all the information necessary in order to obtain valid consent to the intervention. We analyzed judgments concerning cosmetic surgery found in national legal databases. A document of National Bioethics Committee (CNB) was also analyzed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The receipt of valid, informed consent is of absolute importance not only to legitimise the medical-surgical act, but it also represents the key element in the question concerning the existence of an obligation to achieve certain results/use of certain methods in the cosmetic surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Radiology and Public Health, Public Health and Humanities Section, University of Brescia Italy - Forensic Medicine Institute, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Radiology and Public Health, Public Health and Humanities Section, University of Brescia - Centre of Bioethics Research, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delbon
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Radiology and Public Health, Public Health and Humanities Section, University of Brescia - Centre of Bioethics Research, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Adelaide
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II". Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Graziano
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Capasso
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", 80131, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niola
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Radiology and Public Health, Public Health and Humanities Section, University of Brescia Italy - Forensic Medicine Institute, 25123 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bin
keywords: Cosmetic surgery; Informed consent; Obligation of methods; Obligation of result