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Risks & Safety
Every surgery carries risk, and good decisions start with clear information. The reassuring part is that, in the published literature, rib remodelling has a strong safety profile — and this page sets that out plainly, in context, without either overstating or understating what the evidence shows.
0.17%
93%
FRACS
The data
What the published data shows
The most important number is this: in the largest dataset to date — a 2026 global survey of 2,351 cases — serious complications such as pneumothorax were rare, occurring in 0.17% of cases, Compare with risks of other procedures1. In the pooled analysis of 318 patients, no cases of pneumothorax and no infections were recorded at all, and in the largest single case series (220 patients), 93% had no major complications.
Taken together, the picture from the published literature is of a procedure whose complications are usually minor and manageable, with serious events uncommon.
That profile reflects what modern technique was built to achieve: the bone is preserved rather than removed, the work is done under real-time ultrasound guidance, and the procedure is performed by FRACS specialist plastic surgeons with specialist anaesthetists in accredited facilities.
0.17%
Serious complications across 2,351 cases. Compare with risks of other procedures1
1 in 588
Serious complications, at just 0.17% of cases
In context
The complication data in context
It can help to see rib remodelling’s published complication figures alongside other well-established cosmetic procedures. The table below shows short-term major complication rates from large studies of each procedure.
Procedure
Published complication rate
Source
Rib remodelling
0.17% serious complications (pneumothorax) across 2,351 cases; no pneumothorax or infection across 318 pooled patients. Compare risks1
Global Survey 2026; Milani-Reis 2026 meta-analysis
Liposuction (alone)
0.7% major
CosmetAssure (Kaoutzanis 2017, 11,490 patients)
Rhinoplasty
0.7% major
CosmetAssure (Layliev 2017, 4,978 patients)
Breast augmentation
~1.5% major (aesthetic breast surgery)
CosmetAssure (Gupta 2017, 73,608 cases)
Facelift
1.8% major
CosmetAssure (Gupta 2016, 11,300 patients)
Breast reduction
~2% major (≈5–7% overall)
NSQIP (Fischer 2014; TOPS 2023)
Abdominoplasty
~4% major (up to ~10% combined)
CosmetAssure (Winocour 2015, 25,478 patients)
Read this table as context, not as a league table. The figures come from different studies, populations and time periods and are not directly comparable. The procedures listed have been studied across hundreds of thousands of patients over decades, whereas rib remodelling’s evidence base — while consistent and encouraging — is younger, drawn from a large multi-surgeon survey and case series. What the comparison fairly supports is a simple point: rib remodelling’s serious-complication rate sits at the low end of routine, widely accepted cosmetic surgery.
The risks
The risks that apply
Rib remodelling is surgery under general anaesthesia, so it carries the risks any operation does. In practice, the ones worth understanding are:
Temporary discomfort. Real in the first week — this is bone surgery — and well controlled with the nerve blocks placed during the operation and a planned pain-management schedule. Most patients turn the corner in the second week.
Minor skin or nerve effects. A small skin mark from the ultrasonic instrument (about 0.6 per 100) or temporary altered sensation around the ribs, both usually settling with time.
Asymmetry. Uncommon (1.85 per 100 in the pooled data) and, importantly, largely linked to inconsistent corset wear rather than the surgery itself — which is why the corset protocol matters. If it occurs, it can be refined.
Serious complications — rare, but real. As with any surgery near the chest, more serious events are possible, including pneumothorax (air around the lung), rare fatal complications have been reported internationally. These outcomes are uncommon, and the safeguards of specialist practice — CT planning, ultrasound guidance, accredited facilities, specialist anaesthetists — exist to keep them that way. Your surgeon will discuss them fully as part of consent, which is the proper place for a complete, personalised risk conversation.
Safeguards
How risk is kept low
Careful patient selection, planning on your own CT imaging, real-time ultrasound guidance in theatre, FRACS specialist plastic surgeons and specialist anaesthetists, accredited facilities with full emergency capability, a structured follow-up schedule, and full professional indemnity insurance behind every stage. These are the reasons the published complication rates are what they are.
After surgery: when to call
You’ll go home with written instructions and a 24-hour contact number. Call early rather than late for shortness of breath or chest pain, fever, escalating pain not settling with your medication, or anything that doesn’t feel right — and 000 in an emergency.
Questions
Risk FAQ
No surgery is without risk, but the published data is reassuring: in the largest global dataset (2,351 cases), serious complications such as pneumothorax occurred in just 0.17% of cases, and no pneumothorax or infection was recorded across 318 pooled patients. Its serious-complication rate sits at the low end of routine cosmetic surgery. The remaining risks are covered above and discussed fully at your consultation.
Short-term discomfort during recovery, and the commitment of wearing the corset. Serious complications are uncommon in the published literature.
That depends on your health and anatomy, which is exactly what the consultation and CT assessment establish. Bring your questions — they’ll be answered specifically.