Beauty is commodity
The rage of plastic surgery is on the rise. Cosmetic procedures may have been a privilege for the few in the past years, and costs for tummy tucks and eyelid lifts were skyrocketing. However, as time went on, there came more cosmetic surgeons and plastic surgery clinics, especially in low cost countries, like Estonia. Combining your savings from plastic surgery with a relaxing stay on a beautiful European country becomes definitely a good idea.
Since the growth of popularity of cosmetic surgery, people with blue- or pink-collar incomes are embracing vanity medicine. Surely, advent of reality shows like “Extreme Makeover” and the popularization of non-surgical treatments like lasers and beauty injections were other important factors for growth of plastic surgery market. Society is all the more becoming beauty obsessed. When one wants to achieve recognition, or even to obtain a job in today’s competing environment, especially huge considering economic downturn, he has to be beautiful!
But as with any kind of surgery, plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures do have risks. At first glance, cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are different. A cosmetic procedure is done to alter or improve a well-functioning body feature. On contrast, plastic surgery is employed to restore the appearance of faculties with defects or for an aspect to regain its lost function due to congenital defects. If you are just dissatisfied with own appearance, you may seek out cosmetic surgery, but if you want to treat, for example, varicose veins, look for plastic surgeon. However, I would say, this distinction is mainly theoretical, and in your world, will be used mainly to play with your bill, and surely to illustrate the fact: the more you want to change your body, the higher is your risk factor.
General risks for cosmetic/plastic surgery:
- Skin Death or Necrosis: usually follows an infection or hematoma and is much more likely among smokers. The skin is excised (surgically removed) and this may affect the cosmetic outcome;
- Asymmetry: moderate or severe asymmetries may require a second surgery. Mild asymmetry is normal;
- Slow Healing: due to age, skin type, failure to follow doctor's advice or factors beyond anyone's control;
- Numbness/Tingling: often temporary, sometimes permanent loss of sensation. This results from injury to sensory or motor nerves;
- Irregularities, dimples, puckers, and divots: can be due to surgeon error, healing irregularities or body make-up;
- Seroma: fluid can collect under the skin and can occur after breast augmentation, liposuction or a tummy tuck.
For women, additional risk factors include taking oral contraceptives or having recently ceased taking them, undergoing hormone-replacement therapy
Consider these factors, looking for plastic surgery clinics. Are you well informed by clinics about the risks ? Does clinics offer after-surgery treatments or adaptation periods in comfortable conditions ? For example, if you are assured that there are no risks or no specific after-surgery treatment is necessary, forget about this plastic/cosmetic surgeon; risks valuation and management is a common practice in any kind of business activity, not only in plastic/cosmetic surgery.
It’s no doubt, list of pre-surgery and after-surgery procedures may be a subject for a separate article. However, most surgeons advise patients try to leave these problems for surgery clinics. It would be definitely good to select clean, safe clinic location (preferably on seaside, where air itself is a treatment) and to spend there little time before and after plastic surgery. One of specific reasons for this, for example, is necessity to evaluate your personal risks for developing blood clots, taking special anti-clotting medications and wearing compression devices.
Villa Medica’s (http://villamedica.com) operative surveys have cited that cosmetic procedures bring list of benefits:
- 75% people gain better social lives, some even enjoy a better sex life.
- 80% enhance interpersonal relationships
- 60% have increased enjoyment of leisure activities.
But it is important that you have realistic expectations about cosmetic surgery. It is about improvement but not perfection. You will never reach absolute beauty, but loving own beauty, you will reach harmony.
