The Allure Of Plastic Surgery
In general, it is people dissatisfied with the appearance of a part of their body who resort to plastic surgery. They turn to this means to improve their physical appearance and enhance their self-image.
Reconstructive surgery, which has been around longer than plastic surgery, is used to correct a physical deformity or dysfunction (e.g., a cleft lip) or to repair injuries caused by a previous injury or surgery (e.g., mastectomy). Generally speaking, reconstructive surgery is covered by health insurance, while plastic surgery is not.
Both reconstructive and plastic surgery is part of the larger field of plastic surgery.
The perception of plastic surgery has definitely taken a favorable turn; it is now more socially acceptable to speak openly about choosing to change your appearance. Nowadays, any night of the week, prime-time reality shows allow us to follow an ordinary person through a process of physical transformation. Some procedures (such as liposuction) are major, while others take no more than 30 minutes in the doctor's office. The desire to rectify and improve what Mother Nature has given us no longer has the same disapproval as it once did.
What People Are Looking For?
Internationally, the plastic procedures practiced most often are, among others, breast augmentation, liposuction, surgical intervention on the eyelids, and rhinoplasty (correction of the shape of the nose).
Traditionally, plastic surgery has been associated primarily with women, but men, too, are now using it to enhance their self-image; in fact, about 13% of plastic procedures are requested by men. Men aim to maintain and regain an air of youth and to give more tone to their bodies. To achieve these results, men can use procedures such as rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, breast reduction, and liposuction.
What You Should Do Before Any Plastic Surgery
While plastic surgery can give you a positive experience, it can also be devastating if you fall into the hands of an inexperienced or unqualified surgeon. Any doctor can hold the title of a plastic surgeon, including dermatologists and dentists. The plastic surgeon may have the extensive non-surgical experience, but no concrete surgical experience.
Here is a series of recommendations for your safety, that will help you choose the surgeon that is right for you.
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- Confirm their credentials and license to practice medicine with your provincial college of physicians and surgeons, and check their records for disciplinary action or legal action.
- Ask the plastic surgeon how often he performs the procedure you are interested in and find out about the rates of complications.
- Confirm that the surgeon is authorized to admit patients to the hospital.
- Check whether the person responsible for anesthesia is duly qualified.
- Ask to see photos of patients the surgeon has operated on.
- Get well-explained recovery after surgery.
History shows that the practice of plastic surgery has ancient roots; however, plastic surgery, as a defined specialty, was not fully recognized until the First World War. Today, scientific advances in this specialty allow plastic surgeons to achieve improvements in shape and function that seemed impossible just ten years ago. It is important at this point to make it explicit that for the exercise of this surgical specialty, a high degree of academic quality is required to obtain the title of specialist in plastic surgery, therefore, it is an obligation of professional groups to claim the place they deserve this area of medical knowledge. Affirm a practice focused on the best interest of the patients, of the best possible technical quality, and the greatest ethical correction.
You could blame the selfie culture, superhero movies, or just the increase in vanity, but what’s real is that more and more men are undergoing plastic surgery to change their faces and bodies.