January 28, 2012

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Are You Ready for Plastic Surgery?

It’s easy to look in the mirror and see all of your flaws. Maybe you don’t like your hips or there’s just a little too much tummy fat. Perhaps your nose looks too big or your lips too small. If you’ve ever thought this about your body, you are not alone. In fact, hundreds of people every day turn to plastic surgery in order to fix the perceived flaws in their physical appearance. If you are considering plastic surgery, be sure to ask yourself a few questions before you make the decision.

-          Are you emotionally secure? Plastic surgery is only successful for those who are emotionally sound and secure. If you are not in the right state of mind, then you will likely not be happy with the results of your surgery.

-          Have you saved enough money? Plastic surgery is expensive, although worth the investment in most cases. Make sure you have saved enough for the surgery and are ready for the expense.

-          Are you mostly happy with your body? If you are happy with most parts of your body, but want to fix just a few small places, then surgery is a good option. If you look in the mirror and see that everything is out of place and un-proportioned, then plastic surgery might not be the best option for you right now. A plastic surgeon can fix flaws, but he can’t make everything perfect.

If you can answer these questions with confidence, then it’s time to take a trip to the plastic surgeons office. What kind of work will you have done?

Plastic Surgeon Vishal Kapoor, MD performing l... 

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Considering Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery sounds like a simple procedure, the type you go in and out in a matter of hours. Plastic surgery is still surgery and any surgery poses risks. It is important to take plastic surgery seriously, as you should any surgery and weigh the risks carefully.

Plastic surgery is unlike any other surgery in the fact that its intended purpose is to alter the patient’s appearance. It is important to have a clear idea of what you want done and have an idea how you want it to look. When you wake up from anesthetic the look you have is the look that will be permanent. This is why it is important to have many discussions with the physician performing your plastic surgery about what you want to change and keep. Take pictures to show the physician the look you are considering.

Be sure you pick a skilled plastic surgeon that has plenty of experience. Ask for referrals from your primary care physician and anyone you may know who has had a surgery they are pleased with. Check qualifications with your state’s licensing board.

It is important to know what your post operative life will be like. How long is the recovery time? What activities may be restricted? People are often surprised at the length of time it can take to recover from plastic surgery.

Be aware most insurance does not cover an elective surgery such as plastic surgery. Be certain you know what the costs will be up front so there won’t be any sticker shock when the bill is received.

Weigh your options carefully before you decide to undergo plastic surgery.

Photo of upper and lower cosmetic eyelid surge... 

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The Merits and Demerits of Plastic Surgery

Actress Angelina Jolie considered the Lara Cro...

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When it comes to the topic of plastic surgery, you’ll find a wide range of opinions. In some cities, it’s not uncommon to work with co-workers who have each had a cosmetic procedure of some kind. Along with Dereon pants, other fashion crazes and the latest hairdos, going in for a lunchtime facelift is the trendy thing to do in some parts of the world. In other places and cultures, cosmetic procedures are considered over-the-top and represent an unhealthy obsession with physical beauty.

Overuse of Plastic Surgery

Criticisms of people who undergo too much plastic surgery persist. What about the woman who wants a butt implant to properly fill out her Dereon pants? When a big bootie is in, should everyone run out and get a butt implant? You then have the subject of Angelina Jolie’s lips. For some women, getting a lip job is a biannual event. The bigger the lips, the bigger the love life, or so the impression goes.

When Plastic Surgery Makes Good Sense

On the other hand, many examples exist of plastic surgery changing lives. The victim of a fire who needs surgery to improve the look of her scorched skin is one example. The child born with a cleft lip whose life is transformed by her new appearance is another example. The man who undergoes male breast reconstruction to feel more masculine is yet another instance of a life being transformed by plastic surgery.

In the end, the decision to get plastic surgery is a personal one. The best cosmetic surgery outcomes are those that result in a healthier and more functional life.

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Plastic Surgery Support

Deciding on if you are going to go through with plastic surgery procedures can be emotionally draining as well as emotionally debilitating afterwards as you try to “fit in” to your new self.

Women across the nation find comfort and friendship amongst other people in the same position as themselves through support groups like dailystrength.org where women can post questions, read information pertaining to the type of plastic surgery they are considering, as well as stories of other women that have chosen these procedures.

The site is connected to other social networking sites as well, including Twitter and Facebook, which allow more opportunities to connect with someone in your exact position, who is seeking to find information, share their story, or acquire friendship with someone in their shoes.

On the site you will find information on many plastic surgery procedures including reconstructive surgery, liposuction, skin grafting, botox, breast enhancement and others. The site also has resources for therapy related services, fitness, financial information, dieting, parenting, as well as physical and emotional health. This site is a great go-to for support, information, and updates on popular cosmetic surgery.

There are numerous articles compiled from members, who range from doctors to patients sharing their testimonies.

Women need a great deal of comfort when they are going through any experience that inflicts change and cosmetic surgery is definitely one of them, whether it is their own choice or not. Changing your physical appearance is a big deal and women need a safe place to vent, to share, to listen, and to have someone to share laughs and tears with.

The site provides numerous services that help shape decisions that women need to make during the period before and after cosmetic procedures and community, which is necessary in unique times of change. Daily Strength is a one stop forum.

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Heidi Montag

A new name to the world of overdone plastic surgery is reality television star Heidi Montag, formerly of MTV’s Laguna Beach and The Hills television series. Born in Crested Butte, Colorado, Montag relocated to California in her youth, quickly falling in love with the West coast lifestyle and all that came with it: sudden fame, media attention and a rocky romance. However Montag shocked the world as audiences watched the attractive blond undergo a number of plastic surgeries that landed her in headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In 2007, at the age of 21, Montag underwent her first plastic surgery, a breast augmentation that significantly enhanced her chest size. She also underwent rhinoplasty—better known as a nose job—as well as collagen lip injections. At first, Montag denied going under the knife, but as media speculation rose, and before and after photos of the reality TV star surfaced, Montag confirmed the rumors and spoke with US Weekly about her decision to pursue plastic surgery at such a young age. Not long after Montag made headlines again in an interview with People magazine in which she revealed that she had undergone ten intensive plastic surgeries in one day by esteemed plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan. These procedures covered a variety of surgeries including a second breast augmentation and second rhinoplasty, a chin reduction, ear pinnings and brow lifts. In the interview Montag also revealed that while undergoing these surgeries she almost died due to an overdose of the drug demerol.

Later in 2010 Montag revealed to Life & Style Magazine a number of scars she now has as a result of the high number of plastic surgeries she underwent. Montag admitted in the interview that some of her body parts now actually look worse after plastic surgery than they did before. She also admitted that she wished she had been more informed when making such life changing decisions.

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Gillies: The Father of Plastic Surgery

Sir Harold Gillies

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Sir Harold Delf Gillies is largely considered the father of plastic surgery and is credited with performing the first successful skin graft in history. Originally born in New Zealand in 1882, Gillies primarily worked in London as an otolaryngologist—an ear, nose and throat specialist—and was educated at Cambridge University.

After studying under a number of leading surgeons, and witnessing the development of experimental skin grafting techniques and procedures, Gilles began to focus strictly on the repair of facial disfigurations. He was instrumental in the establishment of a facial injury ward at the Cambridge Military Hospital which would later be transformed into the world’s first facial injury hospital known as Queen’s Hospital. While working at Queen’s Hospital, Gillies and his team of esteemed surgeons developed many of the first techniques of plastic surgery. A number of these techniques, paired with more modern technologies, are still used in plastic surgeries today.

While at Queen’s Hospital, Gillies and his men performed more than 11,000 surgeries on more than 5,000 patients, many of whom has been severely disfigured during the war. Among his many accomplishments was the facial repair of Walter Yeo who was the first ever recorded patient to undergo successful skin graft surgery. The majority of injuries Gillies worked to correct involved gunshot wounds. Through his methodical research Gillies allowed for many veterans of the First World War to continue their lives normally after suffering serve cosmetic injuries. He also organized plastic surgery units throughout a number of British hospitals. For his work, he was knighted in 1930.

In addition to his work during wartime, Gillies also maintained a private practice in which he treated a number of famous patients. He also traveled worldwide promoting new techniques in plastic surgery as well as lecturing and teaching new medical professionals and surgeons. He and a colleague are also credited with performing the first ever sex reassignment surgery to transform first a female into a male and later a male into a female. During these surgeries Gillies pioneered a specific flap technique which would later become the standard for such procedures.

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The First Plastic Surgery

The history of plastic surgery dates back to 1917 when a young British naval officer named Walter Ernest O’Neil Yeo received what it believed to have been the first ever skin graft. Yeo, a sailor during World War I, primarily grew up in Plymouth, England and was raised in a single parent home by his mother, Rhoda. Yeo joined the British Royal Navy at age 12 as a Bugler for a number of years before later serving as Leading Seaman, a Petty Officer and finally a Warrant Officer. However, during the Battle of Jutland—a naval battle between Britain and Germany in the North Sea near Denmark—Yeo was badly injured while manning firearms aboard the HMS Warspite. Due to the severity of his injuries, which disfigured most of his face, he was admitted into Plymouth Hospital while he awaited entry to Queen’s Mary Hospital where a team of better skilled surgeons and doctors were available to operate on him.

The extent of Yeo’s injuries were substantial. During the battle, Yeo lost all his upper and lower eyelids and therefore could not close his eyes or blink, a source of constant discomfort and distress, aside from painful and extremely visible scarring. Once admitted into Queen Mary’s Hospital, Yeo was operated on by Sir Harold Gillies, who is largely known as the first doctor to make use of skin grafts, or the use of sections of undamaged skin elsewhere on the body to repair damaged areas of the skin. Yeo is believed to be the first patient to undergo such skin grafting.

During the lengthy process of Yeo’s skin transformation, a mask of skin was laid across Yeo’s face and eyes which created material for new eyelids. Yeo would undergo one additional facial operation to better fit the mask, and while his medical diagnosis was listed as significantly improved yet still severely disfigured, he continued to live a normal life until his death at the age of 50 of natural causes.

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Extreme Makeover

Extreme Makeover was a controversial reality TV show launched in 2002 on the ABC television network. The show followed the lives of individuals who volunteered to receive extreme physical makeovers in the form of severe plastic surgeries, intense exercise regimes, and hair and wardrobe improvements. The show was hosted by stylist Sam Saboura and brought in a diverse team of plastic surgeons, dermatologists, eye surgeons, dentists, nutritionists and trainers to facilitate each candidate’s transformation.

The big reveal of each episode occurred when the transformed individuals were finally able to meet face to face with family and loved ones who had not seen the individuals since the start of the transformation process, which often times spanned more than six months. Later updates on contestant were also included in the show to track the lives and progress of the show’s transformed individuals.

Extreme Makeover served as the spinoff launch for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, a popular home renovation show in which builders and celebrities pitch in to provide dream homes for worthy contestants. However unlike Extreme Makeover, the Home Edition has continued to dominate the ABC Network in recent years. Extreme Makeover: Wedding was also introduced as an additional spin off idea, though the potential television show was only introduced to the network in a single pilot episode and never aired again.

Extreme Makeover received much criticism as it relied on potentially harmful plastic surgeries to correct body imperfections that could have otherwise been achieved through rigid diet and exercise. Due to television airing times and schedules, many of the surgeries and physical fitness regimes were also criticized as not allowing enough recovery time for each contestant to fully achieve their aesthetic goals in a safe and healthy manner. Extreme Makeover also underwent a lawsuit from the family of a former contestant who was dropped from the show, suffered severe emotional distress and subsequently took her own life. The legal battle waged for over a year and was settled for an undisclosed amount of money.

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The Swan

In 2004 the Fox TV network introduced a new concept in reality TV, one that involved extreme physical makeovers and intense rounds of plastic surgeries. Known as The Swan, after the story of The Ugly Duckling who transformed into a beautiful swan, the show took sixteen women who were self identified as “ugly ducklings” and assigned to them a team of medical and aesthetic professionals, including coaches, trainers, therapists, cosmetic surgeons and dentists. Together the woman and her team designed her perfect body and face over a three-month period of time. Two doctors were specifically chosen to participate in the pageant—Doctors Terry Dubrow and Randal Haworth—due to their abilities to create astounding transformations.

The Swan ran for two seasons and starred Amanda Byram, a former model and Irish television personality, as the host. The highly controversial program had a number of unique rules that each contestant had to abide by, including not being allowed to view themselves in mirrors for the entire three-month period. Each contestant was critiqued by a panel of judges that included former beauty pageant winners, model executives, fashion editors and photographers. The women were critiqued on qualities such as work ethic and personal growth.

Winners of the contest received a number of prizes in addition to a completely new face and body. Additional prizes included a modeling contract with a national modeling agency, a personalized designer wardrobe, a one-week all expenses paid vacation in Hawaii, a weekend publicity trip to Las Vegas, a $50,000 educational scholarship, $10,000 worth of life coaching, a new Jaguar and $50,000 in cash.

The Swan received major criticism from psychologists nationwide as a show that promoted plastic surgery and unrealistic perfection. Other critics believed the show preyed on insecure, emotionally unstable and vulnerable individuals who faced serious psychological disorders surrounding their physical appearances. Medical professionals claimed the show was unsafe due to the extreme number of plastic surgeries contestants were to undergo. Eventually the show was cancelled after two seasons.

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Bridalplasty

In 2010 the E! Network introduced a new show designed to give one lucky bride the body and face they’ve always wanted for one special day: their wedding day. Bridalplasty, hosted by former model and Miss America contestant Shanna Moakler, is one of the more outrageous reality TV shows introduced to television in recent years. Twelve contestants compete to win their perfect wedding while completing various challenges along the way. Each challenge corresponds to a certain plastic surgery that contestants undergo should they win the challenge. The overall winner of Bridalplasty receives all surgeries on her plastic surgery wish list in addition to a dream wedding, the perfect wedding dress and a great reveal on the day of the wedding. All plastic surgeries on the show were performed by Dr. Terry Dubrow while Ben “BC” Camper served as the personal trainer for the winning contestant, ensuring the victorious bride is also in tip top shape for her big day.

All contestants on the show live together in a mansion where drama unfolds daily. Episodes test the overall compatibility of their brides and their fiancés; put the women through extreme physical challenges; test them on domestic duties and chores; and challenge them to design their perfect wedding days. Additional obstacles include dealing with incompatible mother-in-laws, taking lie detector tests and surprise eliminations.

Bridalplasty is one of the most controversial reality TV shows airing on the E! Network. Many psychologists and nutritionists denounce the show as promoting self destructive behaviors and body image issues, such as body dysmorphic disorder, a disorder where the individual maintains an excessive obsession about a perceived flaw in one’s physical appearance. Additional critics of the show warn that it glorifies plastic surgery and promotes it as a quick fix to problems otherwise solved by diet and exercise. Bridalplasty is also criticized for idolizing perfection. As each contestant is dismissed, they are warned that their weddings may not be perfect.

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