Haley Serra
AP English Language and Composition
Jennings/Seabaugh
5th hour
October 16, 2013
Put a Stop to the Image Crop great title!
No one is completely satisfied with their physical appearance. We all have that one flaw
we want fixed. There are temporary fixes such as makeup, but cosmetic surgery is a procedure
that changes the physical appearance permanently. Some may say these changes make you
beautiful but plastic surgery is not worth it, because of all of the risks these procedures have.
expand on your intro and specifically state your claim
Permanently changing your appearance is a disfavor for yourself and not worth the
extreme amounts of money. Although certain aspects of appearance may not be perfect, flaws
are what define people. If everyone was perfect and flawless, the world would be a boring
place. Looks are not everything, there is so much more to people. People are so pressured to
look “good” that they will take drastic measures to do so. In 2011, Americans had 13.8 million
cosmetic procedures, 91% of which were in women and about 230,000 cosmetic procedures
were performed in teens ages 13 to 19 (two percent of all procedures). In 2011 alone,
Americans spent $10.4 billion on cosmetic procedures, up nearly 3 percent from 2010.
Receiving cosmetic surgery has high risk concerning your health. Although there are
minimally invasive procedures like Botox, things can still go wrong. These risks can range from
unattractive or unnatural final result, to scarring or even death. Many people mistakenly
assume that elective procedures, such as cosmetic surgery, aren't as serious as other types of
surgery, which is not true. During most procedures, patients are put under anesthesia. Most
patients tolerate anesthesia just fine, but anesthesia-related complications are the leading
cause of cosmetic surgery deaths. Complications with anesthesia can occur especially in
patients with asthma, pneumonia, and blood clots. The patient’s most feared risk is a poor
cosmetic outcome, a result that not only fails to improve appearance, but actually makes one's
appearance worse than before the surgery. Another major risk is scarring of the skin. Scarring is
not always predictable and cannot always be reversed. In some cases, nerves may be damaged
or severed during surgery procedures. Nerve damage can cause numbness and tingling, which
may be permanent. During face reconstruction, if a nerve is damaged, this can result in the
inability to make facial expressions or drooping of the eyes or mouth. Infection is another major
risk of plastic surgery, and any type of surgery for that matter. Diabetics, smokers, and those
who take steroids or have certain vascular conditions are at greater risk for infection.
Additionally, you are more likely to have an infection as the length of your operation increases.
An infection is harmful because it prevents the incision from healing normally. Skin breakdown
can occur which is when healing skin separates from healthy skin and must be removed
surgically. Hematoma is also a great risk factor of plastic surgery. A hematoma is a collection of
blood outside of a blood vessel. A hematoma can develop after surgery, and typically results in
an area being swollen and bruised in appearance, with a pocket of blood beneath. In some
cases, this is minor, but a hematoma can be large enough to cause pain and even decrease
blood flow through the area. When there is large hematoma, the surgeon may have to remove
some of the collected blood with a syringe or other similar method. Necrosis can also occur,
which is when tissue that has been operated is killed. A seroma is similar to a hematoma: it's a
collection of lymphatic fluid around the site of injury. In a seroma, clear fluid builds up in a
pocket near the surgical site. If a large amount of fluid accumulates, the surgeon has to reduce
the pocket by removing fluid with a syringe. Seromas are common with more invasive cosmetic
procedures, such as a tummy tuck. A blood clot is a common risk of many procedures, the most
common type is a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a clot that develops in the leg. Although not very
common, DVT’s can begins to move through the veins toward the heart and lungs. With all of
these risks, is improving your physical appearance really worth it? way too much for one
paragraph
Plastic surgery is permanent, like a tattoo. Although most procedures can redone or
altered, not completely reversed or removed. What if the surgery does not turn out the way
you wanted? A Study was done by social worker Roberta Honigman and psychiatrists Katharine
Phillips, MD, and David Castle, MD, and found that patients who are dissatisfied with surgery
may request repeat procedures or experience depression and adjustment problems, social
isolation, family problems, self-destructive behaviors and anger toward the surgeon and his or
her staff.
Plastic surgery has become very popular in society, and is continuously on the rise.
Although the technology has become more advanced and more studies are being done on how
to be safe and successful, cosmetic surgery is not worth the risk. There are so many factors that
can negatively affect your health. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and
goes way deeper than just what is seen on the outside of a person. Nobody is perfect, and
cosmetic surgery does not make you any better of a person.
where is the counterclaim/rebuttal?