Bekky Feik
Alison Fernley
English 1010
May 1, 2013
Cosmetic Surgeries: A Quick Fix?
In our instant gratification era, should cosmetic surgery be the norm? Where women
can stop in for a quickie breast enhancement on their lunch break and head back to the office
looking and feeling like a new person? These days, laser liposuction is an increasing trend,
where women can schedule an appointment and after a brief office visit, continue their normal
daily routine, having just lost (or removed?) two inches of body fat.
In recent years, the number of cosmetic surgeries performed in the US has risen
exponentially. In 1992 our nation saw 80,000 breast alterations, 50,000 liposuction procedures
and another 50,000 nose jobs. In 2012, the number of breast alterations has climbed to
439,000, 202,128 liposuction procedures and 242,684 nose jobs. This increase is over 500% in
just 20 years.
I’ve heard many people use the terms “cosmetic” and “reconstructive” surgeries
interchangeably, but there are, in fact, differences between the two. The biggest ones being
that reconstructive surgeries are generally used to correct a birth defect or a scar from a
disease or a traumatic injury – basically to restore the body to what it once was, or should have
been. Although the coverage varies, reconstructive surgeries are generally covered by medical
insurance. Cosmetic surgery, on the other hand, is generally used to enhance or alter one’s
physical appearance for cosmetic and self-esteem reasons and because it’s elective and not
considered to be a medical necessity, it is usually not covered by insurance.
What was once practiced only on the rich and elite has made amazing technological
breakthroughs in the medical, social and economic societies in recent decades. Some would
argue that “the cosmetic surgery revolution is upon us and unstoppable” (Scheer). In fact, due
to such breakthroughs and the help of many celebrity endorsements, cosmetic surgeries could
be as common place as orthodontic work in the near future. Already in certain circles and
career fields, cosmetic surgery is not only accepted, but also expected. Many have compared it
to taking what God gave you and improving it.
Personally, I notice a small problem with this thinking. Our country is a very selfabsorbed and conceited. How you look matters a lot. You’re supposed to look good, but
should looking good have to come from invasive and painful surgeries?
Cosmetic Surgery is a mostly cash business, but if that’s a problem, it can always be
charged: Visa, MasterCard, American Express – It doesn’t matter. Across the country, a face lift
can run anywhere from $4,000 -$5,000 and in California, where there’s a lot of pressure to look
your best, there are waiting lists for people who want the surgery, but can’t afford it. One Dr.
reported patients asking him to hold a check for three days before cashing it (Scheer). Because
cosmetic surgeries are considered elective and generally not covered by insurance, most
patients pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for their various procedures.
Consider for a moment that one surgeon performing 10 surgeries (two per day) per
week at $4,000 each is making $40,000 in one week and $2,080,000 per year. And that surgeon
doesn’t have to wait for insurance to free up a check for him, because it’s already been paid for.
In advance.
Surgeons in Los Angeles, when questioned about their clientele, stated that most of
their patients were not actors or stars or even rich for that matter. “Most of them were
working professionals who just wanted to look good in order to remain competitive in the
workplace” (Neimark).
More men are turning towards cosmetic surgeries because they’re competing with
younger men and starting to experience appearance-related discrimination in the workplace.
“Most surgeons admit that we’re a society that fears and despises age. In today’s society,
looking old is not accepted. It’s a stigma associated with a lack of energy and a dwindling of the
mental faculties. I don’t think anybody wants to appear old to anybody else. Our society over
the last 20 years has become absolutely obsessed with youth” (Neimark).
I say, yes, we’re all afraid of getting old, but people have been doing it for hundreds and
hundreds of years. Who says it has to be scary or boring? Shouldn’t we just accept it and enjoy
the ride looking like the best version of ourselves, instead of the assembly-line people that we
seem to be turning into?
When patients start requiring more than one surgery on one, or even more, body part(s)
I think we need to reevaluate the reason behind wanting additional surgeries. Also, I think that
we need to second guess our initial reasons for wanting that surgery in the first place.
Body Dismorphic Disorder (known as BDD) is a condition where patients have a mentally
unhealthy obsession over non-existent or barely visible flaws in their physical appearance commonly referred to as “imagined ugliness”(Neimark).
Approximately 75% of people with BDD are looking for a fix with cosmetic surgery or
other cosmetic procedures. Unfortunately for these people, cosmetic procedures are rarely
beneficial and can often make the symptoms worse. On the rare occasion that they are satisfied
with their procedure, their preoccupation will often move on to another body part and begin
the cycle all over again.
Most surgeons try to screen their patients for BDD, among other things, and there are
some who have been known to refuse procedures for those patients who would be considered
“at risk”. Unfortunately, there are also those surgeons who have the opinion that a patient’s
body is a patient’s body and it’s their right to have done whatever they want to it. I think that
when a situation like this arises and the surgeon proceeds with the surgery instead of referring
that patient to a psychiatrist, they’re not considering the patient’s well-being at all – but rather
their own wallet.
That said, numerous studies have found that most patients seem satisfied with their
procedures, at least in the short term, and surgery might even improve body image.
Studies have shown that cosmetic surgery can have positive long-term effects on the
patient’s self-esteem. Dr. Wollmer, a psychiatrist in Europe performed a 16 week study on 30
patients with moderate depression. 15 of his patients were given shots of Botox into the
furrows of their brows and the other 15 were given an empty solution. His research published
last year in the Journal of Psychiatric Research showed that at the end of the study, the patients
who received the Botox injections were the patients who became better (Weintraub).
A fashion and beauty writer in Newport Beach commented on her own face lift, “I’m still
being asked if I’m glad I did it. Who would not be glad to have the bags gone from over and
under their eyes; have the saggy jowls gone? Any regrets? Oh, yes. Why didn’t I do it 10 years
ago?” (Scheer)
A 2002 study led by Thomas Cash of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia found
that a woman’s perception of herself improves for at least two years after she’s had breast
implants (Nowak).
Most people don’t consider the fact that their surgery isn’t going last forever. Just
because they now have the nose or brows that they’ve always wanted, doesn’t mean that time
and gravity are not going to alter their new modification as though it were any other natural
feature on their body. These “live modifications” often require additional surgeries to maintain
their perfection.
For example, collagen injections to the face will give you a more youthful look, but
they’ll last less than four months.
Breast implants can rupture or you’ll need to have them removed overtime and most of
the changes to your breasts after implants cannot be undone, often leaving the patient with
cosmetically undesirable breasts in the end.
Every surgery has risks and side effects and cosmetic surgery is no different.
In
comparison to the vast number of cosmetic procedures that are being performed in today’s
society, the number of complications, serious problems and horror stories are minimal, but
they do still exist: painful skin burns, face lifts that cause muscle paralysis and accidental death.
In Florida, a newspaper investigation also found that 1,100 reports of injuries also took
place under the care of Florida plastic surgeons since 1980.
When you realize that the majority of cosmetic surgeries are performed in a doctor’s
office outside the reach of state and federal regulatory agencies and that no minimum
standards exist for doctors, their staff or their facilities - no certification process to give patients
a true idea of whether the physician is actually qualified to perform surgical procedures, no
requirements for basic life-support equipment in these office-based surgeries - one might
reconsider their elective surgery choice.
“Medical science has yet to come up with a diet, exercise, or drug guaranteed to make
fat people thin,” (Surgically Slim) but some have suggested gastric bypass or some other type of
banding as a cure. Is this not just another type of invasive procedure?
When it comes to liposuction or laser fat removal of some kind, isn’t it a better idea to
hire a person trainer or maybe a dietician who can teach you how to eat and work out the
correct way so that you don’t find yourself in a similar position again? Would that not be less
expensive than costly procedures to remove excess body weight?
David Sarwer of the Center for Human Appearance and the University of Pennyslvania
School of Medicine in Philadelphia said that “We have to believe that cosmetic surgery will
improve our self-esteem and body image, and make us feel better about ourselves. If not,
we’re wasting an awful lot of time, effort and money.” He also said, “The desire to perfect your
body, even at such a high potential cost, is a consequence of living in image-conscious
America,” According to one survey, over 56% of women and 43% of men are dissatisfied with
their appearance. “That dissatisfaction motivates a whole host of behaviors – weight loss,
cosmetic and fashion purchases and cosmetic surgery” (Nowak).
While I do agree with Sarwer that the desire to perfect our bodies at such high costs is a
result of living in a very image-conscious country and that we are wasting an awful lot of time,
effort and money on our body image to make ourselves feel better, I don’t understand why “we
have to believe that cosmetic surgery will improve our self-esteem and body image and make
us feel better about ourselves.” I’m having a difficult time understanding how the very basis of
Body Dismorphic Disorder tells us that the problem with our self-esteem and body image is
imagined – in our heads, and yet, here is a professional telling us that cosmetic surgery will fix
everything for us. It seems like an exterior repair for an interior problem.
I do understand that in certain situations cosmetic surgery can be a great option, but I
don’t believe that it should be the answer for everyone.
"Surgically
Slim." Consumer
Reports
Vol. 71,
No. 2. Feb. 2006: 24-28. SIRS
Issues
Researcher. Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Neimark, Jill. "Change of Face...Change of Fate." Psychology Today. May/June 1994: 42+. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Roan, Shari. "Stomach Surgery Not Just for Obese." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 03 Jan
2010: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Schulte, Fred, and Jenni Bergal. "Cosmetic Surgery: Plastic Surgery--The Risks You Take." SunSentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL). Nov. 29 1998: 1A+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Von Soest, Tilmann Ph.D. and Kvalem, Ingela L. Ph.D. “Psychosocial Changes after Cosmetic Surgery:
A 5-Year Follow-Up Study.” Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (Oslo, Norway). 128(3):765-772,
September 2011. EBSCO Host. Web. 23 Apr 2013.
Scheer, Robert. "The Cosmetic Surgery Revolution: A Frenzy of Lifts, Nips and Tucks." Los Angeles
Times (Los Angeles, CA). Dec. 22 1991:A1+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Nowak, Rachel. "When Looks Can Kill." New Scientist (London, England) Vol. 192, No. 2574. Oct. 21
2006: 18-21. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 03 Apr 2013.
Weintraub, Karen. "Turning a Frown Upside-Down May Help Lessen Depression." USA TODAY. 29
Jan 2013: D.6. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 07 May 2013.
Reflection:
1. Describe the feedback you got on your presentation and on your rough draft during
peer review.
The feedback I received was minimal. There were a few questions that I took into consideration
in my final draft
2. How did you revise your paper to make it more appealing and persuasive to our class as
your audience?
I’m not entirely sure that this paper could be more appealing and/or persuasive to our class. I
don’t see how guys would be interested in this subject matter and I remember getting at least
one comment to that effect.
3. How well do you think you have met the criteria for this paper?
I hope I’ve met the criteria – I tried to make sure I added everything that I needed.
4. If you had another 24 hours to work on this, what would you do?
I’m not entirely sure…??