Most of those actual instances of complications are never known to patients contemplating cosmetic surgery and they often fail to consider the true risks that could actually materialize because every patient believes that he or she will not be among the relatively small number of patients who are harmed or even killed every year by their choice to undergo unnecessary cosmetic surgery. In 2007, the issue made national headlines after the mother of Hip-Hop artist Kanye West's mother died from serious complications following her liposuction surgery (Lite & Dillon, 2007; News Medical
Some of those risks include severe hemorrhaging during or after the procedure, nerve damage from accidental disruption of severing of nerve tissues, and serious (even potentially life threatening) post-surgical infections (Zuckerman & Abraham, 2008). While the relative risk of those complications are small for each individual patient, in the aggregate, virtually all of those possible complications will materialize thousands of times annually among the entire patient population undergoing all types of surgery, including elective surgery such as cosmetic procedures (Pitts-Taylor, 2007)
That raises serious concerns, particularly on the part of well-meaning parents because of the inherent risks involved and even more so because of the questionable sources of motivation for these desires. Conceptualizing the Respective Risks and Benefits of Cosmetic Surgery As is the case with all surgeries, cosmetic surgical procedures are associated with significant potential risks (Zuckerman & Abraham, 2008)
These changes are even as simple as methods of payment, "Changes in health-care practices are the main reason behind growing credit card use for medical payments," (Lunt 1996:60). Medical practices have also grown much closer to home; "Plastic surgery is generally used to heighten or enhance gender differences and can take place under casual circumstances such as 'Botox house parties' where doctors make house calls to administer injections to groups of friends," (Hauser 2007:31)
This has impacted the medical environment drastically. These changes are even as simple as methods of payment, "Changes in health-care practices are the main reason behind growing credit card use for medical payments," (Lunt 1996:60)
It is clear that magazines, television, and movies influence how the every-day women want to look. From the very beginning of plastic surgery's popularity "Every illustrated magazine wanted to show photos of the most prominent patients," (Panfilov & Larkin 2005:182)
Modern society has seen a use of cosmetic surgery as emulation of their favorite stars, models, and other ideals of perfection portrayed in the media. According to research, "individual images of the desirable body can become harnessed to the perpetuation of pre-existing social inequalities," (Shilling 2003:7)
The media portrayed it as the latest quick fix for any body issue problem. Based on this, the popularity of plastic surgery has sky rocketed, "Times have certainly changed from the days when cosmetic surgery was a dark secret," (Stenson 2004:1)
Unfortunately, this left many to do real harm to themselves in the quest for the perfect image. In many cases, looking to plastic surgery to solve problems with body issues can actually lead to what is known as Self-Injurious Behaviors, or SIB, (White Kress 2003:490)
And this feeling of increased attractiveness translates into increased confidence and happiness in nearly every aspect of a person's life, at least for a while (Crampton, 23). The potential positive effect of cosmetic surgery on a person's self-esteem is so great, in fact, that cosmetic surgeons often view themselves as healers of not only "physical defects," but of emotional desperation (Blum, 74)
Someone who gets his teeth straightened and whitened, gets Botox or collagen injections, or even just a mole removed often feels dramatically more attractive afterward, even if the visible results of a procedure are only faint. And this feeling of increased attractiveness translates into increased confidence and happiness in nearly every aspect of a person's life, at least for a while (Crampton, 23)
A person can also use cosmetic surgery for all the wrong reasons, especially if that person has other underlying psychological issues beyond low self-esteem. For example, both men and women have been known to use plastic surgery to attract and/or retain a mate, though this behavior is more common in women (Davis, 15)
A person can also use cosmetic surgery for all the wrong reasons, especially if that person has other underlying psychological issues beyond low self-esteem. For example, both men and women have been known to use plastic surgery to attract and/or retain a mate, though this behavior is more common in women (Davis, 15)
Why wait weeks or months to get the result you want, if you can get it at all, when a little trip under the knife can fix it all instantly? Or, in some cases, an undesirable feature is genetic, and no amount of diet and exercise is going to change it. That is where the cosmetic surgeon comes in, to fix what some view as nature's mistakes (Gimlin, 89)
, 23). Model Cindy Jackson has had at least 27 cosmetic surgery procedures, including 4 face-lifts (Leigh, 1)
That this is a false notion never occurs to her, and when he later leaves her, despite her cosmetic enhancements, her self-esteem is crushed as she wonders why she was not good enough for him. And it is likely that she never considered that cosmetic surgery can only do so much; it can not erase all the tiny imperfections that make us human, something the surgeon likely did not tell her beforehand (Lewis, 9)
Some of them simply leave the patient looking worse than he or she felt they did before. Others actually cause physical harm, sometimes permanent, such as in the well-publicized cases of silicone breast implants that have made their recipients physically sick (Smith, 40)