Surgery Benefits

Cosmetic surgery is unique in medicine. Unlike other surgeries which are intended to treat patients who are ill, suffering from a disease, such as cancer, or injured, cosmetic surgery is performed on patients who are healthy and have elected to have an operation in order to improve their appearance in some way.

When surgery is performed to cure cancer, treat an infection, repair an injury, or relieve pain the benefits are obvious, and often easily measured. No one accuses such patients of vanity in undergoing their procedures.

With this in mind, what are the benefits of cosmetic surgery? Is it vain to want to have cosmetic surgery? It is important to understand that the concept of vanity can have both a good and a bad connotation. If vanity is defined as concern over one's appearance, then most of us are vain to some degree. This concern is what leads us to take a shower, comb our hair, brush our teeth, and carefully select the clothes we wear so that things will match reasonably well (women do this last one much better than men!). If not for vanity of some sort, the entire cosmetics and make-up industry would not exist. Neither would hair salons.

It is a natural human desire for us to want to put "our best face" before world around us, that is, to look our best. Nothing wrong with that. Cosmetic surgery is a natural extension of this desire, taking it one step further. Most people have one or more features that they are not totally happy with. Some of us are able to make peace with our appearance. Others are not. Some things simply cannot be covered, such as a saggy neck, or compensated for by padding, etc. such as small breasts. Some clothing items are very unforgiving, such as bathing suits.

Vanity becomes a problem or undesirable when it becomes excessive. When appearance is the focal point of one's existence or when minor problems become magnified to where they take on a life of their own, then vanity can be a significant problem. Patients in these situations may approach cosmetic surgery with unrealistic expectations. They may expect something that is not possible or feasible in their particular case or may agonize over minor imperfections in the surgical outcome. A good plastic surgeon will always try to identify these patients in order to avoid problems later.

Benefits of cosmetic surgery can be broken down into tangible and intangible. Tangible benefits are such things as tighter, smoother skin, elimination of unsightly bulges, a more proportioned breast shape, younger looking eyes, a flatter tummy. These are obvious, immediately visible and are a direct consequence of the surgery itself.

Intangible benefits are, as the word implies, a bit harder to describe. How can we quantitate a feeling of well being, improved self confidence, or a better self image? Some examples might be helpful. A young lady came to see us who had had several pregnancies at a young age. The result of these was a disfiguring degree of sagging of the skin and soft tissues of her lower abdomen as well as extensive stretch marks. She was referred to us by her gynecologist because she was so self conscious of this that she would not undress in front of her husband or allow him to see her abdomen. A tummy tuck provided the tangible benefits of removing the excess skin and most of the stretch marks. The intangible benefit was her markedly improved self image as evidenced by the obvious tan marks of a two piece bathing suit! She told us repeatedly how this procedure had changed her life.

Another patient was a woman who had experienced an extreme lost of breast volume following pregnancy and breast feeding. She went from a nice "C" cup to barely an "A" and her breasts now sagged as well. A breast augmentation gave her back the fullness she had lost and brought her up to her previous cup size; these were the tangible benefits. The intangible was when her husband told us how much more confidence she had and how much better she now felt about herself as a result.

The aging process affects everyone but to varying degrees. Some people tend to age quite gracefully while others look old before their time. Men tend to age better than women, at least as regards their face. This may be a result of hormonal differences or because men have more facial hair and the process of shaving daily may have a rejuvenating effect on the skin. Many of our patients come to us because they look in the mirror and see someone who looks much older than they feel. In this case, the desire for cosmetic surgery is to bring their appearance more in line with how they feel.

In every surgical procedure there is something known as the risk versus benefit ratio. Simply put, the benefits of an operation should outweigh the risks. When dealing with a life threatening condition, such as cancer, a great deal of risk may be acceptable because the potential benefit; saving a life, is so huge. This equation is more difficult to assess for cosmetic surgery. In this situation, it is critical to keep risks as low as possible and to perform surgery so as to derive the most benefit from the procedure. Only the patient can determine for themselves when a particular problem feature is sufficient to justify surgical correction. It is the obligation of the plastic surgeon to present a balanced overview of the surgery, both the good and the bad so that the patient will be able to may an informed decision. We take this responsibility very seriously and take as much time as necessary before any surgery is decided upon to be sure our patients know as much as they can to help them make the right decision for them.

Cosmetic surgery is like any other surgery in that carries with some inherent risks, there is some associated discomfort and a recovery period, and results cannot be guaranteed for any patient. Unlike most surgery, however, cosmetic surgery should be "feel good" surgery. Patients should look better and hopefully reap significant intangible benefits from having it done. These may be a renewed sense of self-confidence, greater comfort in social situations, a more youthful outlook to go with the more youthful appearance, and, in general, a nice sense of well being in having done something to improve oneself. What any patient will do with the results of their surgery is entirely up to them. One can only imagine the possibilities.