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During spring and summer months, using a lawn mower can be as routine as bike riding or barbeques. People, however, find themselves in terrifying situations when these seemingly safe household machines injure their operators. In fact, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 200,000 people - 16,000 of them children - are injured in lawn mower-related accidents each year. Lawn mowers, however, don't "attack" people on their own. Most injuries, such as severed fingers and toes, limb amputations, broken bones, burns and eye injuries, are caused by careless use and can be prevented by following a few simple safety tips.

And when people think of plastic surgery in sunny destinations like San Diego breast augmentation and facelifts usually come to mind, however, this field encompasses both cosmetic and reconstructive. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) discusses preventing injuries and educating adults, parents, and children about the importance of lawn mower safety in a recent article and points out that many lawn mower-related injuries require a team of physicians from various specialties - plastic surgery, microsurgery, maxillofacial surgery, pediatrics, and orthopedics - to properly repair them. Often, patients must go through difficult reconstructive operations for months, sometimes years, to restore form and function.

San Diego plastic surgeons warn that lawn mowing can be dangerous to the operator as well as those nearby if proper safety precautions aren't taken. Power lawn mowers are dangerous adult tools, but many children, and sometimes adults unfortunately, see them as toys. The ASRM, ASPS, ASMS, AAP and AAOS offer the following tips to help prevent lawn mower-related injuries:

• Children should be at least 12-years-old before they operate any lawn mower, and at least 16 years old for a ride-on mower.
• Children should never be passengers on ride-on mowers.
• Always wear sturdy shoes while mowing - not sandals.
• Young children should be at a safe distance from the area you are mowing.
• Pick up stones, toys and debris from the lawn to prevent injuries from flying objects to the face that may necessitate facial surgery such as San Diego rhinoplasty or reconstructive ear surgery. Very often, plastic surgeons see patients who suffer significant facial injuries by items thrown out of mowers like sticks and stones.
• Always wear eye and hearing protection.
• Use a mower with a control that stops it from moving forward if the handle is released.
• Never pull backward or mow in reverse unless absolutely necessary - carefully look for others behind you when you do.
• Start and refuel mowers outdoors - not in a garage. Refuel with the motor turned off and cool.
• Blade settings should be set by an adult only.
• Wait for blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, or crossing gravel roads. (As a safety feature, some newer models have a blade/brake clutch that stops the blade each time the operator releases the handle.)

To learn more about lawn mower injury prevention, contact your local San Diego cosmetic surgeons who can provide additional information about treating numerous facial injuries caused by lawn mowers, the effects of which can be devastating particularly to children.