When you see or hear views opposing plastic surgery their number one concern is always the safety, risks, and overall health outcomes of it. First, one must know with any medical procedure there are risks, just as there are risks with going to a tanning bed, but out of all the women I know most of them have been to one in their life. In the most popular choice of plastic surgery, breast augmentation with over 300,000 procedures nationwide, surgery is a simple, safe procedure (Wigoda). It is not without some risk and discomfort of course, but the results are rewarding. In more than a million implants, no relationship between the implants and cancer, spontaneous abortion, or birth defects have been found (Haiken 265). No illness or deaths have been associated with the presence of silicone implants in the body. Breast enhancement has skyrocketed in popularity since silicone gel was allowed back on the market in 2006 after a 14-year absence, now women can sit down with their plastic surgeons and choose from a bewildering array of gel, saline, smooth, textured, or shaped implants (Roizen 393). Rhinoplasty: This is a two-to-three hour procedure, can be done with you either awake or asleep. The doctor will sculpt the cartilage and bones in your nose, making you look yourself or providing you with a nose you feel more comfortable with (Roizen 394). Liposuction: Has been the most popular procedure in plastic surgery for almost two decades, and the 457,000 procedures performed annually make it nine times as popular as in 1992 . Most women often get fat suctioned from their thighs, and men have it removed from their “love handles” (Roizen 394) Eye Procedure: The eyes are the first part of the face that hints aging, because those little crinkles in your lower eyelids can be accompanied by extra skin on the upper lids, giving you an “always tired” look. Obviously there’s a good reason why 241,000 people had blepharoplasties last year (Roizen 395). Tummy Tuck: The fastest growing cosmetic procedure and among the most popular ones is the abdominoplasty. A tummy tuck tightens the rectus muscles in the abdomen and also pulls in the obliques to improve their tone and you’ll stand up straighter, and your lower back pain may be relieved (Roizen 396). Botox: Almost one and a half a million people knowingly had injections into their bodies last year. Botox locks onto your nerves and destroys them within days, leaving your muscles unable to move, injected at the part of the wrinkle, smoothing it out and leaving it unable to crease into a wrinkle again (Roizen 397). With all of these surgeries available and the proper time put into finding the right doctor and reviewing all the information there should be no health concern at all.
Being mentally and physically happy with your body can bring many benefits to your life. A lot of people look down on plastic surgery because they think you should be happy with the body you have. The people against plastic surgery do not have your body or know how you feel about your body, and plastic surgery can really help low self esteem problems and body image issues. Some women consider themselves less attractive or feminine because of the lack of "ideal" size and shape of their breast. This feeling of inadequacy has been found to lead to lowered levels of self-esteem and sexuality (Figueroa-Haas 16). Research indicated that breast augmentation procedures produced positive psychological benefits by significantly improving quality of life. For many women, breast size is an important part of feeling good, desirable, and normal. A meta-analysis literature review of 10 studies performed indicated positive, direct correlation between self-esteem levels and cosmetic surgery (Figueroa-Haas 21). The results identified an increased level of self-esteem correlated with improved levels of depression, improved healing processes, and the ability to cope with changes in the body image (Figueroa-Haas 21). The improvement in body image is not just with breast augmentation but also with aesthetic nasal surgery, which refines the shape of the nose, bringing it into balance with the other features of the face. Because the nose is the most prominent facial feature, even a slight alteration can greatly approve appearance (Muth 207). There are many proven statistical differences in the approval of one’s body image after plastic surgery with many benefits it is worth the very few disadvantages associated with it.
Out of the people who are against plastic surgery many are just basing their negative feelings towards it off of very wrong preconceived notions, such as thinking that when someone gets plastic surgery they just go in and do it, not knowing what to expect or the risks. This is not true because doctors must show you every aspect involving the surgery and here is a note to a plastic surgeon from a patient after her surgery: "Dear Dr. Rey, This note is just a little "thank you" for the amazingly informative and congenial visit I had with you last week. I was very impressed with the amount of time that Dr. Rey spent with me discussing every aspect of care and precaution involved with such a procedure as augmentation." Also reports suggest that typically 70% or more of patients report satisfaction with their surgical outcome. Another idea about plastic surgery that is false is that it is just for people who want to make their body perfect and be as beautiful as possible. Cosmetic surgery is not just to improve appearance but to remedy deformities that adversely affect patients' health (Haiken 300). The opposition always stresses the cost also, but most people are not aware of any plastic surgery price ranges. In my interview with Kellie Paisley when asked about the preconceived notions that concerned her and if it was worth it, she stated "Yes, it was very rewarding and boosted my self-esteem along with my happiness. The only part that worried me was the cost and dangers of the surgery, but my doctor made it so easy for me and in the end the cost was worth the benefits." Plastic surgery is not what everyone makes it out to be and if looked into it is completely worth it.
Plastic surgery is helpful to anyone from someone who broke their nose and wants it to look how it used to, to someone who just wants larger breasts for more confidence, to even someone who was in a car accident and needs their whole face completely reconstructed. There are great benefits such as more self esteem, loving your body image, greater confidence, it is as safe as any other procedure, and also everyone in our culture has started to embrace it and the costs are significantly lowering. People against plastic surgery can only say that people just want it because of peer pressure from our society, and that it is a very big health and safety issue. As I have shown these are not issues to be concerned with in this time period. Plastic surgery helps millions of people a year and I do not wish to encourage it but I feel there is nothing wrong with it. If you feel satisfied with your body that is great, but not everyone is and these people should not be judged for wanting to feel satisfied with theirs.
Works Cited
Dr.90210. E! Entertainment Television, Inc. 2010
Figueroa-Haas, Cynthia L."Effects of Breast Augmentation Mammoplasty on Self-Esteem and Sexuality"Plastic Surgical Nursing. 16 Mar. 2010: 16-22. Print
Haiken, Elizabeth. Venus Envy: A History of Cosmetic Surgery. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1997. Print
Muth, Annemarie S., Karen Bellenir. Health Reference Series: Surgery Sourcebook. Detroit. Omnigraphics,Inc. 2002. Print.
Pacher, Gerd C."Negitive effects of cosmetic surgery."Buzzle(2000-2010): n.pag. Web.17
Mar. 2010
Paisley, Kellie. Personal Interview. 13 Mar. 2010
Roizen, Michael F.,Mehment C. Oz. You being beautiful: The owner’s manual to inner and outer
beauty. New York.2008.Print.
Wigoda, Paul.” Hurrting Less: Breast Implants Are Painless, Patients Say”. Plastic Surgery Practice Advisor 4.9(2008): np. Web. 1 May 2010.
