Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this statement is often ignored today. Beauty is very much valued in our society, and one way to become more “beautiful” is cosmetic surgery. There are two categories of cosmetic surgery: minimally invasive and invasive surgeries. Minimally invasive surgeries, like laser hair removal, are often called surface treatments. These procedures require little time and no cuts or actual surgery procedures are performed on the patient. (Lusted 25-6). Cosmetic surgery that requires incisions and the use of anesthesia make up the second category. This category contains body contouring surgeries, like liposuction and abdominoplasty; and traditional surgery procedures, like breast …show more content…
Most of the health risks from cosmetic surgery are common risks of all surgical procedures. Some common health issues that surgical procedures cause include mild bleeding; scarring of skin; infections forming at incisions; tingling sensations from nerve damage; anesthesia complications, like pneumonia; and excess fluid getting trapped under the skin. (Mayo Clinic Staff). Now, these are just possible health issues from traditional, necessary procedures. Patients receiving cosmetic surgery submit themselves to these possible complications when the surgery is not intended to improve the patient’s abilities, but only for aesthetic purposes. These complications are also painful and most need to be treated by more surgery, blood transfusions, or cannot be treated at all. (Mayo Clinic Staff). Patients receiving surgery can go through a whole procedure and still come out with complications that need additional surgery. Cosmetic surgery for aesthetic reasons also contains the possibility of all of these complications, but the complications are easily avoidable by not receiving the surgery. This would save the patient from pain and possible disfigurement from failed …show more content…
Cosmetic surgery patients are very likely to suffer from a number of mental illnesses. One mental illness associated with cosmetic surgeries is Body Dysmorphic Disorder, or BDD, which is one 's obsession of a flaw in their appearance, whether the flaw is real or imaginary. People who suffer from BDD experience excessive hostility, low self esteem, and the need to be perfect all the time. They also suffer from symptoms such as depression, social anxiety and phobic, paranoid, schizotypal behaviors, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. (Sansone and Sansone). Obtaining cosmetic surgery for BDD will fix the patient 's initial negative feelings about the flaw that they are obsessed with, but then their illness will focus on another body part, and the cycle keeps going. Instead of looking to cosmetic surgery, people with BDD need professional help of a trained medical professional specializing in mental illnesses. One can find out if they have BDD by first taking an online BDD tests, and if the results show a high trace of BDD, then one would meet with a clinician and receive diagnosis from there. After receiving the diagnosis, it is most likely that the patient will receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or antidepressants (ADAA). These treatment options are aimed to actually help the patient’s mental health, not just temporarily improve the patient’s self esteem like in cosmetic