Cosmetic Surgery Essay, Research Paper

Nobody knows about cosmetic surgery better than Edward Mondeck and his two children, ages 9 and 11. Rosemarie Mondeck, 39, decided to have a bit of tummy fat removed after having two kids. She let the doctors use a new procedure called tumescent liposuction. The patients are primed prior to surgery by injecting large amounts of diluted local anesthetic and epinephrine, drugs that shrink capillaries. They reduce bleeding and make it easier to suck fat out according to doctors. After the drugs were injected, Rosemarie went into cardiac arrest and died. ?All she had was a fatty area above her bellybutton,? states Edward. Look at what can happen. This goes to show you that cosmetic surgery is not only dangerous, but can also result in death.

Cosmetic surgery is defined as a surgery that improves one?s self-image by correcting a certain area of the body that the patient finds unsightly. Its biggest benefit is psychological. It is used to minimize age-related features in baby boomers such as wrinkles and sagging skin.

?A big part of self-esteem is feeling that you look good. We can cure an insecurity in 30 minutes that a psychiatrist can?t cure in 30 years,? H. George Brennen, M.D., Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, states in the magazine article from Young and Modern. Many people want to get cosmetic surgery because they feel that they don?t look good. ?A certain level of attractiveness can open doors. It can make a difference in a teen?s social life and later on, in a career,? (Bloch 60). It can help you to look better and pursue a career in modeling or a field related to looks. Shouldn?t people accept themselves for who they are? As Andrea Cooper states in the article ?Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Make Me the Prettiest of Them All?, ?All the cosmetic surgery in the world won?t help if you don?t feel good on the inside.? It won?t change you if you already don?t feel good about yourself. You will just make it worse by trying to change yourself so you?ll feel more attractive.

People age. Especially today when they are active and in the work force. They feel good on the inside, but when they look at their image, they look at a face or body that they dislike. ?I don?t see a problem at all with matching what you see with how you feel,? (Davis 77). If you were hoping cosmetic surgery would add excitement and spice to your life, or rekindle an old flame, you might be disappointed. It will only change physical aspects. Your mental aspects may still be disappointing. You?re still yourself, you are just learning to cope better with your body now that you like it. You can learn to be more confident and self-assured.

?During the periods in between the wars, Americans participated in a new, visual culture, where appearance seemed to rank even higher in importance. The postwar era also saw an increase in surgery to minimize or eradicate physical signs of race or ethnicity,? (Shepard 2006). Americans began to see people of different origins, and they liked their look better. Other people didn?t like their appearances an example being blacks. Whites thought they were better than blacks and used them as slaves just because of their skin color. Things like that make you want to change your looks so that other people wouldn?t make fun of you or ridicule you about your looks. Research shows that today looks play a major role in our society. Women and men look at magazines and see the pictures of the skinny models. Then they think that they?re ugly and fat because they might not be that skinny or have those perfectly proportioned face. Remember the saying it?s what?s on the inside that counts. You should go by that because the pictures of the people you think are ?perfect? probably have many more problems than you. Live to like yourself and don?t go by what others think of you.

Some types of cosmetic surgery are rhinoplasty, the reduction of a nose, otoplasty, to correct protruding ears, blepharoplasty, which is to remove drooping skin around eyes, and rhytidectomy, face-lift. People tend to want blepharoplasty as they get older. It has many complications that could arouse including bleeding, swelling, delayed wound healing, infection, drooping of upper or lower lid, asymmetry, double vision, and dry eye syndrome. During recovery, the first 24- 48 hours you have substantial swelling and blurry vision. The stitches aren?t removed until four to five days later. Breast enlargements are a common sought surgery. Women want bigger breasts so that men will like them better or just to look bigger. Complications that could occur are delaying wound with diabetes, history of radiation, autoimmune disease, smokers, capsular contracture, bleeding, infiction, and irregularity of skin. After having surgery there is swelling, and there may be some asymmetry. The first week you can?t lift anything or exercise. The outer shell of the silicon is filled with saline. If the saline get a hole, the leak can result in a flat implant and necessitating surgical replacement. ?Risk of serious complications for most cosmetic procedures is as high as 2%, with some procedures being more problematic,? (Podolsky 74). Listen to all of these complications that could occur and recovery methods. Are you willing to go through this? What if this happens to you while you are getting surgery? Are you willing to risk your perfectly normal body for one that could be even worse after surgery? Think about all of these. This was only two of the types of surgery. Think about how long it would be to list the rest of them.

When you go in to talk to the doctor about your surgery, they will most likely either take a picture or they have a computer-imaging machine to show you what the change will look like. For a picture, if only the lighting, angle, and film are changed, you can look like a totally different person with great results when no surgery has been done. In the computer imaging, it?s technically impossible for your surgeon to replicate those results. You will go into surgery thinking you know what you?ll look like when you?re done, but when you get done, you will look totally different. Sometimes people are going through life changes and they think that it will solve their problem, so they go ahead with it. In the end, people are more depressed after the surgery because they don?t like the way they look.

Doctors should advise patients to look at the whole picture and suggest procedures that are in keeping with your overall appearance. Today a more natural appearance is popular. Liposuction has become the nations favorite cosmetic procedure. It is not appropriate to get liposuction done for general obesity. You have to have always consistently eaten well and worked out. You have to try to rid yourself of the problem area first. If it doesn?t go away after trying, then you might consider it. ?Slick marketing campaigns make it easy to think of cosmetic surgery as just another off-the-shelf consumer product, its purchase about on par with buying a new computer system. But surgery is surgery. There is pain. Recovery can be lengthy and uncomfortable. Moreover, there can be complications of anesthesia, infection, bleeding, and unfavorable scar,? says Ross Rudolph, head of plastic surgery at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California.

Surgery isn?t guaranteed. What if you aren?t satisfied? A lot of surgeons charge for a re-operation. They explain it as cosmetic surgery not being a luxury. After surgery, if you?ve had an incision, you?ll get a scar. Do you want a scar after you?ve tried to make yourself look better? It might make you look worse. You won?t be able to exercise. You will always have to wear sunblock on that part of the body you?ve had surgery. You can?t expose your skin to hot, cold, or windy conditions. Pretty much, you?ll have to stay inside when you want to go out and show off your surgery.

The commercial goal is to make you want the most extensive surgery at the highest cost you can afford. Since insurance doesn?t cover it doctors can charge whatever they like. Many doctors are doing cosmetic surgery with minimal training. Urologists are doing hair transplants. Gene Barry, a gynecologist, does more liposuctions the C-sections. They do it for that extra money since you are paying for it out of your pocket. Do you want a doctor who has no training doing surgery on you? It is scary to even think about that. The cost is anywhere from $200 to $12,000 for one procedure. The cheapest being vein removal at $200 to $500, and the most expensive being a face-lift at $5,600 to $12,100. ?People having vanity procedures topped 1.6 million in the United States in 1994,? (Podolsky 72). If you have more than one thing done, then of course it will cost more than that. Even after spending all that money to correct you imperfection, most of the areas are likely to go back to the way they were after a few years. You will grow back wrinkles. It?s a sign of aging. Only a few procedures stay forever. A tummy tuck, for example, will stay forever, but the fat will grow in around where you got surgery leaving a lumpy look.

All surgery is hazardous. The doctor should help you decide what not to have to minimize your risk. Cosmetic surgery is all about fantasy and possibilities, not scars and death. That?s what explains the growing population. ?In the process, something other than flesh is being altered,? (Siebert 20). Deaths are rare, but no one knows how rare since risk data isn?t compiled into a central clearinghouse. ?US News asked Physician Insurers Association of America, which has data on malpractice claims, to check its database of over 150,000 cases involving cosmetic procedures. There were 2,600 claims from Jan. ?85- Dec. ?95. Thirty of those cases involved deaths,? (Podolsky 74). That is a high death rate. Do you want to be one of those statistics?

This shows you that cosmetic surgery is not only dangerous, but can also result in death. After reading this, you should reconsider the thought about having cosmetic surgery. It shows you just how high the risks are and that it is about fantasies. God gave you the look you have and you should be satisfied with them. Remember that it?s not what is on the outside, it?s what is on the inside that counts.

Cooper, Andrea. ?Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Make Me the Prettiest of Them All.?

Young and Modern. May 1999: 60-64.

Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.cosmetic.org/. 28 March, l999: 6:30 p.m.

Davis, Rod. ?Blueprints for Beaty.? Weight Watchers. September l998: 74-77.

Morgan, Elizabeth. The Complete Book of Cosmetic Surgery. New York, NY: Warner

Books, c l988. 617.95.

Plastic Surgery. Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. l994 copyright.

Podolsky, D.H. ?Read this First.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996: 79.

Podolsky, D.H. ?The Price of Vanity.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996:

72-78.

Sheperd, Janet E., MD. ?Cosmetic Surgery.? Journal of American Medical Association.

24 June l998: 2006.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.drshiffman.com/BIO.html.

4 April, l999: 5:07 p.m.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet.

http://www.drshiffman.com/FACIAL.html. 4 April l999: 5:11 p.m.

Siebert, C. ?The Cuts That Go Deeper.? The New York Times Magazine. 7 July l996:

20-25, 34.

Works Cited

Cooper, Andrea. ?Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Make Me the Prettiest of Them All.?

Young and Modern. May 1999: 60-64.

Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.cosmetic.org/. 28 March, l999: 6:30 p.m.

Davis, Rod. ?Blueprints for Beaty.? Weight Watchers. September l998: 74-77.

Morgan, Elizabeth. The Complete Book of Cosmetic Surgery. New York, NY: Warner

Books, c l988. 617.95.

Plastic Surgery. Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. l994 copyright.

Podolsky, D.H. ?Read this First.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996: 79.

Podolsky, D.H. ?The Price of Vanity.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996:

72-78.

Sheperd, Janet E., MD. ?Cosmetic Surgery.? Journal of American Medical Association.

24 June l998: 2006.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.drshiffman.com/BIO.html.

4 April, l999: 5:07 p.m.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet.

http://www.drshiffman.com/FACIAL.html. 4 April l999: 5:11 p.m.

Siebert, C. ?The Cuts That Go Deeper.? The New York Times Magazine. 7 July l996:

20-25, 34.

Works Cited

Cooper, Andrea. ?Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Make Me the Prettiest of Them All.?

Young and Modern. May 1999: 60-64.

Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.cosmetic.org/. 28 March, l999: 6:30 p.m.

Davis, Rod. ?Blueprints for Beaty.? Weight Watchers. September l998: 74-77.

Morgan, Elizabeth. The Complete Book of Cosmetic Surgery. New York, NY: Warner

Books, c l988. 617.95.

Plastic Surgery. Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. l994 copyright.

Podolsky, D.H. ?Read this First.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996: 79.

Podolsky, D.H. ?The Price of Vanity.? US News & World Report. 14 October l996:

72-78.

Sheperd, Janet E., MD. ?Cosmetic Surgery.? Journal of American Medical Association.

24 June l998: 2006.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.drshiffman.com/BIO.html.

4 April, l999: 5:07 p.m.

Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet.

http://www.drshiffman.com/FACIAL.html. 4 April l999: 5:11 p.m.

Siebert, C. ?The Cuts That Go Deeper.? The New York Times Magazine. 7 July l996:

20-25, 34.