February 23, 2012

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... 

Image via Wikipedia

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... 

Image via Wikipedia

 

 

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.

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.

Gastric Bypass Surgery

Many sufferers of obesity are turning to medical procedures to help them drastically lose weight. Many consider gastric bypass surgery as a last resort, but turn to this once they have significant difficulty losing excess weight, have tried prescription medications, and are at a loss of how to help themselves further to lose weight.

There are two main types of gastric by-pass surgery, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and extensive gastric bypass. In the Roux-en-Y bypass procedure, this is completed as minimally invasive as possible, often being completed by utilizing laparoscope. The procedure limits how much food a person can eat by stapling a small portion of the stomach together and adhering a Y shaped section of the small intestine to the stomach. This procedure reduces calorie absorption as well as nutrient absorption. The main feature of this type of bypass surgery is that it restricts food intake.

In an extensive gastric bypass a portion of the stomach is removed, rather than stapled. The small intestine is then attached to the remaining portion of the stomach. This procedure is not as widely utilized because it has severe restrictions to nutrients that the body needs to remain healthy. While the procedure does drastically allow a person to lose excess weight over a period of about two years, the body goes through significant shock.

The main risks that are associated with any gastric bypass surgery include the stomach stretching back to its normal size, erosion of the band that was sutured to close off the stomach, or breakdown of the staples within the stomach, which reverses the procedure. One of the most fatal of the risks is that the stomach contents leak and spread throughout other organs. The acid from the stomach would harm the other organs.

Exercise and diet are still essential after gastric bypass surgery, and this should be used only as a last resort for weight loss.

Gaining Acceptance: The Celebrity Influence

Shishido before and after the plastic surgery ...
Image via Wikipedia

It was once the most shocking of revelations, the unbelievable truth: a celebrity was finally forced to admit the reinvention of nature, the defiance of genetic strands. She was not born with her now famed beauty. She had instead had chosen it. A body had been shaped by a knife, stripped of all excess inches. Features had been sculpted carefully, seeking out the needed symmetry. It had been a long and difficult process — a necessity due to the pressures of her career, her fans. She had to be perfect and perfection, she knew, had to be paid for.

Such an explanation would have stunned the world once. Now, however, it is considered common.

Plastic surgery used to be a topic that couldn’t be easily broached. It bordered on the taboo, with the public unfamiliar with its procedures and uncertain of its advantages. It wasn’t understood — and because of this it sparked controversy whenever mentioned.

The years have offered a change, however. No longer is this process considered flawed. No longer are individuals afraid to confess it. Instead it’s offered often in the media, spoken of fondly.

Plastic surgery has become accepted — and celebrity influence is to be cited.

Our lives are dominated by our passions: the films and shows, the endless entertainments. We devote ourselves to learning all we can about them, to examining every facet of Hollywood royalty. And, as cinema stars became more obviously effected by surgery, it suddenly became known to the public. The corrective procedures were recognized.

And that allowed them to then be coveted.

Individuals began to demand their own changes, wishing to appear as their beloved celebrities did. Collagen was craved; reconstruction was needed; and the result was a sudden burst of popularity — one that hasn’t waned.

The media has left an indelible impression on surgery, and the public is now aware of what can be accomplished and how it can be applied to them.

Plastic Surgery: Understanding Reasons

Photo of Liposuction Surgery being performed b...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s an assumption of immediacy, of easy transformation. You’re seeking to change yourself with the aid of a scalpel, the precise cuts and stitches. Too long have you suffered from the burden of being… you. There has been no relief. There has been no assurance. You’ve had a lifetime instead of wilted confidence. Every day has been a challenge. Every hour has been lamented. You can’t remember happiness. You think perhaps it never existed.

And so you wish now to discover something new, something better — and plastic surgery seems to be the perfect solution. It can take away the worry and shape it instead to kindness. You can have the appearance you always knew to be hidden inside. It will simply require a doctor to reveal it. You can finally be content.

This logic is common. Individuals flock each year to demand reinventions. They wish to defy all flaws, shifting them instead into conveniences. It’s a simple thing now to create a new identity and surgery has become accepted among all.

This can’t be denied — and shouldn’t be. The advantages of this specialty are innumerable and must be celebrated.

Individuals should understand, however, that no amount of clever knife-work will soothe an emotional problem. Surgery is meant to correct the perceived faults of the body. It won’t cure the troubles of the mind.

Too often is it believed that all concerns will fade once this change has been completed. A damaged ego will become suddenly whole. The truth, however, is that this isn’t a substitute for healing; and some will receive far better results from counseling instead. The reasons for seeking this procedure must therefore be understood.

You cannot mend a broken mentality (despite how easy it would seem) through surgery. This must be recognized. While the practice is a worthy one, it is not enough to rectify all of your past worries.

Know this and decide what will truly aid you most.

The Evolution of Surgery

Photo of Mini Facelift Cosmetic Surgery Proced...
Image via Wikipedia

It is a modern philosophy. It is a current trend. Plastic surgery — the process of transforming skin, correcting flaws — is believed to be a practice of the 21st century. What else, it’s argued, could it be? The need to defy nature, to fix all tiny concerns, has been formed from the recent decades. Science therefore was surely created to address this need. The ability to change a body must be a recent one. It’s far too compelling to be anything but new.

This is a common assumption. It is also an incorrect one.

Plastic surgery was not formed in the present. It instead was created in the past — offering a history that is as impressive as it is essential. Through the slow evolution of techniques and instruments, this process was able to reach the standards of today. With the aid of constant experimentation (and an understanding of the potential importance), surgery has become an undeniable specialty. And its origins therefore deserve to be understood.

The first attempt of this idea — that has been recorded — dates back to the sixth century. During this time, the world was reliant still on herbs and alchemy. All procedures were limited to home-brewed remedies, vague guesses. In India, however, a change was coming. Revolutionary physician Sushruta (who is often named the father of Indian medicine) created a new form of healing when he redefined the nose of a disfigured solider.

Shaping the wound back to its original form, Sushruta developed the first rhinoplasty — a then unheard of notion. Reconstructing the skin proved difficult but he managed still to succeed; and in doing so became the founder of plastic surgery.

Other procedures would follow this one: from battling war wounds to correcting impairments, the years would be filled to careful exploration. Surgery spread throughout Asia, Europe and eventually to the United States; and now it represents a convenience that could have never before been dreamed.

Surgery: The Celebrity Concern

Plastic Surgery (album)
Image via Wikipedia

It’s a sudden curiosity, a search through ink: you stand at the checkout counter, bored with the debates of paper and plastic, waiting for your groceries to be tallied. It’s a dull afternoon (as so many are) and you find yourself needing a distraction, however brief. So you reach out to the bevy of magazines lined along the walls, are met by slick pages and slicker photographs.

Your favorite celebrities are gazing back at you — with their flawless faces and easy smiles. Words are crowded beside the pictures, though, offering proof that such smiles aren’t true. They’ve instead been manufactured: lips stuffed with collagen; teeth wetted with bleach. It’s an illusion. You find nothing wrong with this, however. A transformation has, after all, served them well. They have the beauty all crave, the fine-boned aesthetics. There’s no fault to find in that… unlike the faults you find with yourself.

It’s a simple thing to desire the celebrity styles, to consider them the answers to all problems. They are the idols of today. It’s only natural, you know, to want to mimic them.

And there is nothing wrong with this. Wishing to seek plastic surgery is an understandable (and achievable) goal. You can discover the same looks and procedures that beloved cinema stars have. This can’t be chided.

It should, however, be recognized still as a danger. This is a medical specialty. It is not the convenience many assume it to be. There are risks — such as infection, internal bleeding, scarring and nerve paralysis — and these must be noted. Wanting a celebrity experience is possible, but it is also potentially damaging. Too few individuals remember this and fling themselves toward a notion without fully understanding it.

There can be no denying that plastic surgery should be considered. It offers value. It is still a difficult process, though, and shouldn’t be demanded casually.

Don’t disregard safety when trying to be like celebrities.

The Uncommon Choices: Plastic Surgery

A 40-year old woman undergoing a combination l...
Image via Wikipedia

There is one truth with science: it never ceases to evolve. What was once a limitation of skin, the hesitant traces of a knife, has become a public ease. Plastic surgery — once believed to be purely for those suffering from birth defects and physical impairments — is now common. Individuals throughout the world seek it every day, wishing to indulge in the convenience of a scalpel. Bodies can be transformed; faces can be reshaped; and confidence can be gained with startling simplicity. It’s the choice of many and the relief of millions.

There’s still some confusion, however, of what can be offered through this practice. Most are familiar with breast augmentations and Abdominoplastys (typically referred to as ‘tummy tucks’). There’s a wealth of other procedures, however, and these should be noted by all. The possibilities are endless and the rewards can be immense.

The practices often overlooked by the public are:

One: Otoplasty. Ears are usually unnoticed by most; they require little thought. Some offer unfortunate angles, however: veering too far and creating a wide appearance. An Otoplasty can correct this, though, by pinning them back and redefining the shape.

Two: Blepharoplasty. Eyes are meant to offer all humor, all secrets. Individuals with weakly formed lids, however, may only be able to provide a sleepy stare. Blepharoplasty can strengthen the natural crease lines, remove sagging skin and increase a youthful appearance.

Three: Abdominal etching. The desire for toned stomachs and a proof of muscles has been forever prevalent. Achieving such proof is difficult, though, even for those of good health. Abdominal etching allows for the body to be sculpted, however. The stomach is contoured and restructured to offer an illusion of athleticism.

Plastic surgery isn’t limited by the usual choices, the expected treatments. It can instead offer options that are tailored to the individual. Almost any part of the body can be changed; and this provides hope to those once trapped by their troubles.