In today’s society, where celebrity, beauty, and youth are worshipped both on-screen and in print, there is a collectively growing emphasis upon image. A constant bombardment of image-conscious media from television, the internet, and magazines generates social pressure to look good and feel good about one’s self. The result is a global boom in the popularity of aesthetic surgery across almost all demographics. Even ordinary people want to look extraordinary …and with aesthetic surgery they possibly can. The choice to undergo aesthetic surgery, however, is not one to be taken lightly.
Unlike most other surgical procedures, aesthetic surgery is mostly elective and is initiated by a patient’s desire to change some aspect of their appearance. Still, all types of surgery require a high level of commitment, both on the side of the surgeon and the patient. The surgeon commits to performing the procedure to the best of their ability, while the patient commits to both the surgical change and the period of recovery it requires (which can range from days to months). This makes the patient’s psychological and emotional state a key factor in determining whether or not a person is a suitable candidate for aesthetic surgery. The more psychologically and emotionally prepared a patient is, the more pleased they will be with the results and ultimately, the more successful the surgery will be as well.
It will serve a patient well to avoid doctors who make grand promises of perfection. Admittedly however, this is probably what a great majority of patients will want to hear and, more often than not, choose to believe! However, such pretension to perfection is unrealistic and does nothing more than falsely reassure those who are doubtful of their decision or are undergoing a procedure for unresolved reasons. Thus, it is extremely important for anyone considering aesthetic surgery to be open and honest during consultation, and learn exactly what to expect before, during, and after surgery. It is essential that a patient asks for a reasonably accurate scenario of surgical results, one that includes post-operative bruising, swelling and other potential complications.
In much the same way that patients should avoid doctors who make promises of perfection, surgeons should also avoid patients who seek it. It will serve a surgeon well to spend some time in assessing a patient’s psychological and emotional frame of mind and understanding the underlying motives for having an aesthetic surgery procedure done. If in the surgeon’s assessment, a patient is not in the proper psychological and emotional frame of preparedness, then he should decline to do the procedure. For in the end, if a patient is unsatisfied with the surgical result (and is because of unrealistic expectations), then this in turn will potentially redound to affecting the surgeon’s reputation, at least in the mind if that individual patient, but quite possibly in others, if “word leaks out”.
Looking to cosmetic procedures as a quick fix for insecurities will only lead to disappointment, but if one has a strong sense of self and wishes to enhance their look, then aesthetic surgery can be a valuable vehicle for constructing or maintaining a person’s positive self-image. The changes resulting from aesthetic surgery vary, but whether subtle or dramatic, that change is often long term, if not permanent. With an attitude of self-improvement, rather than self-deprecation, aesthetic surgery can be a catalyst for change not only in appearance, but also in life.
All things considered, it is not the correct choice for everyone, and as society continues to demand conformity, true self-examination becomes more and more difficult. Some would turn up their noses at aesthetic surgery, deeming it a shallow pursuit of physical perfection. Just as many, if not more however, would embrace it as an opportunity for change and a chance to look and feel good about how they look. Ultimately, it boils down to one’s state of mind, but it may help to consider this ---surgery, in any sense of the word, should not focus purely on fixing a problem, but rather aim towards improving the quality of life.