According to activists, more than 725, 000. If someone is unhappy with their body image, should we offer them a surgical solution or should we help them address their anxieties? If you think this suggestion is an affront to people's right to do what they want with their bodies, consider it. According to seven epidemiological studies, women who enlarge their breasts have a suicide rate two or three times that of the general population. Presumably, there is an underlying dissatisfaction that causes some people to resort to breast surgery and that surgery doesn't solve it.
There is a known psychological condition called body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), and several studies suggest that about 10% of people who undergo cosmetic surgery have this condition. However, if you have obsessive-compulsive affective disorder, cosmetic surgery won't be effective in making you feel better about your body. According to activists, more than 725,000 people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder. One of these conditions, anorexia, has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses.
Most studies report that, in general, people are satisfied with the outcome of cosmetic procedures, but few rigorous evaluations have been performed. In fact, Furnas noted that trust is what patients express most after undergoing cosmetic procedures. For those who experience distress related to their appearance, cosmetic procedures can be a way to increase confidence and improve self-esteem. So what does this mean for plastic surgery? Body positivity is an incredible message, and it really combines well with what we do as plastic surgeons.
We know very well that the aesthetic procedures we offer are not a quick solution or a total change. Instead, when done tastefully, plastic surgery is a way to optimize a person's body so that they feel as comfortable as possible with their own skin. It seems that most patients who undergo cosmetic surgery have a good prognosis in psychological and psychosocial terms. However, several predictive factors for a poor prognosis emerge from the literature, suggesting that surgeons should be careful when performing aesthetic procedures on people with these characteristics.
However, these conclusions must be tempered by the realization that the literature has a number of important methodological limitations. Does plastic surgery make patients feel better? Studies have shown that people report being more satisfied with the part of their body where they have had surgery, but the results are mixed as to whether plastic surgery improves their self-esteem, quality of life, self-confidence and long-term interpersonal relationships. In addition, patients with extreme body dysmorphia may never truly feel satisfied with their bodies, regardless of the number of surgeries they undergo. This is important to keep in mind because people with mental health problems find that surgery doesn't do the job of other forms of treatment that may be available for them.
For people who experience distress related to their appearance, cosmetic surgery can increase confidence and improve self-esteem. According to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 75 percent of facial plastic surgeons report an increase in the number of patients under 30 who seek injections and cosmetic procedures. Regardless of whether you decide to have plastic surgery or not, it's important that you feel good about your body. Psychiatric literature studies suggest that patients with body dysmorphic disorder often have a poor psychosocial prognosis after cosmetic procedures and that, from time to time, patients with this disorder are even violent with the treating surgeon.
It is also enlightening to evaluate the patient's expectations about the outcome of the proposed procedure, both in aesthetic and psychosocial terms. Both men and women are increasingly concerned about their physical appearance and are looking for an aesthetic improvement. Therefore, it will be increasingly important for psychologists to be able to talk to patients about their appearance problems and what can make a person a good or bad candidate for cosmetic surgery, he says. Cosmetic surgery was born from the reconfiguration of the faces of veterans of the First World War who had been disfigured during the war.
We reviewed the literature on psychosocial outcomes after cosmetic surgery, using MEDLINE, PsychLit, PubMed, PsychINFO, Sociological Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Proquest 5000, Web of Science and CINAHL. Several studies reported improved social functioning, relationships, and overall quality of life4,18,21—26 after cosmetic surgery procedures. While some people may initially hesitate to consider surgery, there are cases where surgery becomes the only viable option for achieve the desired results.
