Plastic Surgery Essay, Research Paper

Plastic Surgery Anyone?

Man kind?s essential nature entails self-improvement and perfection. Because human beings have always sought out self-fulfillment through self-improvement, plastic surgery may be one of the world?s oldest hearing arts. According to the Plastic Surgery Information Service, there is written medical evidence that cites medical treatment for facial injuries for over 4000 years. Physicians n ancient India were utilizing skin grafts for reconstructive work as early as 800 BC. Furthermore, the driving force behind most plastic surgery development was to repair awful and quite serious war injuries in the 1900?s. There were shattered jaws and blown off noses which required innovative restorative procedures. There was much good news to report to the American people in the post ?war days of the 1950?s. As with other areas of science and medicine, plastic surgery discoveries were happening at break-neck speeds, often derived from innovations tested in hospitals of Korea. Internal wiring for facial fractures, rotation flips for skin disformalities and a bevy of other new techniques were developed by plastic surgeons. (2) As the 1960?s began, plastic surgery became even more prominent in the minds of the American public as the scope of procedures performed by surgeons increased, along with many scientific developments. A new substance, silicone, began to emerge as an important tool for doctors. Silicone was initially used to treat skin imperfections and is now overly used as a breast implant device.

All parts of the human body, it seemed, could benefit from the skill of the plastic surgeon to perfect the body. Liposuction and breast augmentation are the two most frequently requested cosmetic surgery procedures. Throughout the 1980?s the issue of breast implant safety went largely unnoticed by the public. However, in December of 1990 questions began to explode nationally when ?Face to Face with Connie Chung? detailed the ?horrors? of breast implants. Her report sparked a wave of concern among breast implant receivers and increased pressure on government officials to react. According to Yes!They?re fake! One may develop a post-operative infection and may have to have the implant removed. Loss of sensitivity in the nipple area or the entire breast in the breast is quite common. And of course, there is a risk of Capsular Contracture (scar tissue inscapulating the implant) which rarely ever goes away, nor does it tend to lay dormant after the surgery is performed. This may occur from the bacteria in the implant or on surgical implements and the body attempting to place the foreign body as far away from itself as possible. If this happens one may develop pains, hardening, disformality, and deflation of the implant. It can sometimes even happen again after the surgery to remove the scar tissue has been performed. The most severe possible side effects of breast augmentation is the risk of the implant shifting or rupturing and the difficulty in detecting breast cancer. A rupture can occur simply from daily activities. Even a doctor can rupture an implant by simply performing a mammogram. (2)

First developed in the 1970?s by Ilouz of France, liposuction is a process where fat is sucked out of the body while doctors insert large amounts of salt water, lidocaine, and epinephrine into tissue. These drugs reduce blood loss and provide an anestheis. Various cosmetic surgeries including the facelift, necklift, tummy tuck, and arm and thigh lift surgeries require liposuction. A new report published in the May 13 issue of The New England journal of Medicine, found five deaths linked to liposuction over four years. Researchers from New York City Poison Control center say that two patients died of a heart attack, one died of blood clots in the lungs and a fourth died of fluid overload. The fifth case was not explained. Plastic surgeons say that liposuction is quite safe. But researchers write? liposuction can be fatal, perhaps in part because of lidocaine toxicity of lidocaine-related drug infections?Deaths due to cosmetic surgery should be a matter for serious public concern.? There are more risks associated with this operation due to the fact that the fat and it?s surrounding tissues becoming dead tissue. If the fat become necrotic from the lack of blood supply the fat tends to turn orange in color and drain from the incision. If this is to occur, the patient must have the tissue removed immediately before an infection spreads. Many doctors agree that liposuction is not the way to loose weight. In actuality not much fat-weight is removed within a single procedure, nor is it safe to do. This operation is meant for people who have serious weight-related heath problems and not just to loose ?those few last pounds?.

There was a time when only Hollywood stars had their ?own? plastic surgeon. There was also a time when own a big screen TV or belonging to a health club was an impressive status symbol. But it?s a dawn of a new century, and these days, it is not unnatural for many people to visit a plastic surgeon for a ?touch up on occasion. As medical technologies have boomed over the past two decades, plastic surgery has made incredible advantages in both reconstructing accidental injuries and congenital deformities and in helping erase the marks, wrinkles and sags of encroaching age. Whether it is fixing a portion of the body to make it look normal or improving the ?normal? facet of the body to make it look even more aesthetically pleasing the goal of the plastic surgeon is to help the patient to look and feel good about him or herself. It has seen an amazing growth in popularity in recent years. These days men and women discuss having nose jobs, facelifts, and tummy tucks as if it was normal everyday activity. More importantly there is a rather disturbing underlying issue among us: Why is our society conducting such surgery in the first place? It seems now as we turn through an issue of almost every magazine we see beautiful men and women all with perfect bodies and flawless faces. The issue over Americas poor self esteem and body image explains why so many people are having such cosmetic surgeries; they simple do not live up to society?s so-called ?standards?. But the most important war patients face is over seeing themselves externally as pleasingly as they see themselves internally. According to an article published by Today, as any good plastic surgeon will stress, plastic surgery shouldn?t be done to impress others but to make you feel good about yourself. And more and more people are using cosmetic surgery to improve their self-image rather that other more healthy methods to improve body image or loose weight. Instead of advertising cosmetic surgery as the simple and practical way to ?become? beautiful, our society needs to focus on reality. It is what is on the inside that counts and in Calvin Clien?s words??Just be?