Mitch Dixon
English 102
Research paper
01 May 2012
The Positives and Negatives of Plastic Surgery
Is cosmetic surgery doing more harm than help? People are talking about making
cosmetic surgery for non-medical reasons outlawed. The argument is that cosmetic
surgery or “plastic surgery” does more of harm to society than is a benefit to the people
getting the operation. Some believe that the image portrayed in reality television and
celebrities is making more people feel they need surgery to “fit in” and to be accepted by
society. The obsession with perfection can lead to mental disorders such as cosmetic
surgery addiction. There are also the inherent medical complications surgeries. On the
other hand there has been many positive outcomes from cosmetic surgery, such as a boost
in participant’s mental health and or physical health. Also the fact the in the United States
constitution the first amendment protects our right to peruse happiness. Although there
are some reasons supporting the negative impact that cosmetic surgery does to society
there are also a lot of benefits.
In some places such as Australia there have been laws passed making it illegal for
people under the age of eighteen to get elective cosmetic surgery. The law is in place mainly
to prevent young girls form getting operations like breast implants and rhinoplasty in
order to portray what they see on television shows like “The Swan” or “Extreme
Makeover.” There are some correlations with people’s tendencies to get surgery and
television shows. Dr. Brian Maloney, a Atlanta plastic surgeon, said,” we have seen a boom
of cosmetic procedures as a result of reality television shows”(Childs). Dr. Brian went on to
say, “The percentage of teens having surgery is low; however, I fear television showing
[young female celebrities] and their antics as well as others will have a tendency to
increase the numbers (of surgeries)”(Childs). The law in Australia does not prevent people
under the age of eighteen from getting necessary operations for medical reasons such as
burn victims or people with physical deformities.
Some doctors in the United States think that the law imposed in Australia is a good
idea; while others fear that if the legislation would pass, the line of weather or not the
surgery would be acceptable would be largely arbitrary (Childs). If the law were to pass
over here in America, it could possible prevent teenagers from getting operations that
would be beneficial to their self-esteem or psychological health. Dr. Garry S. Brody thinks,
“The age eighteen is an unrealistic marker”(Childs). Other doctors think that most of the
teenagers are intelligent and mature enough to understand the risks of cosmetic surgery
and that the government should not set a blanket age for operations (Childs). The fear is
that if teenagers, mainly young females were to start getting more and more operations
than other teenagers who did not get the operations would be seen as inferior. In reality
operations have risen 17% from 2006 to 2007 (Cosmetic), but in 2007 only 2% of those
surgeries were teenagers, with the most common operation being ear-reshaping
operations, and under the laws in Australia those may not be allowed.
Although not all cosmetic surgeries are harmful, there are some risks that do come
with them. In America 1.7 million people are hospitalized a year with 10,000 deaths due to
surgical compilations (Bersch). One argument for the outlawing of cosmetic surgeries is
because of the surgical risks and since it is not a mandatory surgery it is too dangerous. In
reality you have just as high of a risk, if not higher, when you drive to work. Carren Bersch
wrote about a story of a woman in Texas that had gotten a breast enlargement operation
from a local dentist and later died to complications from her back door operation. With
higher regulations on who can and who cannot perform certain operations would prevent
the number of botched operations. The people that are getting the operations from licensed
doctors are going to be made well aware of the risks of the operation. It is the person’s
own choice to get to the operations if they think the risks outweigh the outcome they wish
to achieve. The government does not outlaw skydiving or Bungee jumping, so should they
outlaw plastic surgery it is our right as and American to do what we what.
The bigger problem with cosmetic surgeries is the psychological disorders that can
result if people are not properly screened before getting operations. There are people who
are already prone to depression my slip further into depression if they do not get the
expected outcome from their operation. While other people can become addicted to
cosmetic surgery, which is caused by a medical condition called body dismorphic disorder
or BDD (Pruitt). The people who have BDD usually have one thing that they want to change
about themselves, but when that is fixed they find another they never are satisfied with
how they look. BDD is not limited to getting multiple operations. Some people can even go
as extreme as people cutting off their one limbs in order to portray what in their head they
see as perfect. As far as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there is two types of
people who undergo plastic surgery: people who have a strong self-image and wish to
change something to improve a characteristic, and those who have a body defect who get
surgeries to improve their self-esteem (Pruitt). Some things that can lead people to
addictions include; patients in crisis, patients with unrealistic expectations, and patients
who have a mental illness (Pruitt). Doctors are supposed to be able to identify the kind of
people that are prone to develop addictions to surgeries by having potential patients go
though screening process. Most good doctors will offer alternatives and use surgery as a
last option.
The psychological and health effects of plastic surgery are not all negative. There
have been studies done that go to show that certain people benefit greatly from surgery.
One study done about small-boned women who had breast reduction surgery showed great
improvements after the operation the patients; their quality of life had improved along
with less feelings of depression. Dr. Bruce Freedman said, “While we are not saying that
cosmetic plastic surgery alone is responsible for a drop in patients needing
antidepressants, it surely is an important factor,” quoted in (Pawilk-Kienlen). Along with
the boost in self-confidence and self-image the patients also showed physical benefits like
less back pain and improved posture. Other operations have been done on burn victims
and people with non-life threatening birth defects and have seen similar results with a
boost in self-image and self-confidence. Dr. Freedman also said that, “We have just begun to
uncover the various physical and psychological benefits of plastic surgery”(PawilkKienlen). The young girl who gets breast enhancement to help her self esteem may not get
them same benefits as the small blond woman who gets breast reduction to help her back
pain, but it is up to the individual and their doctor to decide if the operation will be
beneficial (Pawilk-kielen).
A better way of regulating the process would not to be to take away the ability to get
plastic surgery but to have the people who wish to get operations to go though a screening
process. The process could check their mental health and the reasons that people wish to
get the operations. The pre-screening would help prevent people who would be prone to
negative mental effects and not limit the people who would benefit from the operations.
If the same laws that Australia has passed were to come to America, it would
be a violation of the first amendment, which states that as an American we have the right to
pursue what makes us happy. People in America are allowed to get tattoos and all kind of
piercings. Would getting tattoos all up and down your arm be just as harmful if not more to
society as getting breast or getting a rhinoplasty? Some people also are saying that is
unfair for the people who can afford to get the operations that it would give them an unfair
advantage in society, with the average breast augmentation or a nose surgery being $6000
and $5500 respectfully (infoplasticsurgery). There have been studies done that do show
that more attractive people are perceived as more intelligent and sociable, but does that
make them more likely to get a job or a spouse as being able to afford to go college. Also if
we were to stop letting people change their body in ways that make them happy would that
take away their freedom.
In conclusion I think that if anything that the way plastic surgery is being used now
is for the most part a very beneficial thing. Studies have shown that public fear has not
come true with younger teenagers getting more and more operations. Although the
number of plastic surgeries has grown quite a lot, up around 446% form 1997 to
2007(Bersch), it is just how thing change over time and a lot of the procedures used in that
stat include non invasive operations like Botox and microdermabration. I personally agree
with many doctors that by outlawing cosmetic operations it would have a more negative
affect by have people turn to more back door operations. Also with proper screening the
psychological benefits and physical benefits outweigh any negative impact that they might
have on society.
Works Cited
“Australian state bands cosmetic surgery for teens.” abc news. abc news, 21 Apr. 2008. Web. 1 May
2012.
Bersch, Carren. “What Price Beauty?” MOL: Medical Laboratory Observer 42.5 (2010): 4.
Academic Search Complete. web. 11 Apr.2012
Childs, Dan. “Cosmetic procedures in 2007.” surgery.org. N.p., 25 Feb. 20008. Web. 2 May 2012.
Info plastic surgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2012.
Pawlik-Klenien, Laurie. “The Benefits of Plastic Surgery.” Psychology @ suite 101. Suite 101, 16 May
2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.
“Plastic surgery: Beauty or beast.” american psychological association. apa, Sept. 2005. Web. 1 May
2012.
Pruitt, Elana. “Cosmetic Surgery Addiction.” Plastic surgery. N.p., 2009. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.