Patient Perspectives:
July 13th, 2009
It is such a personal decision to have cosmetic surgery and I thought it was only something for glamorous people in movies or television. I never even considered cosmetic surgery until my body changed after four pregnancies. I was always known in the small town I grew up in as having a nice chest. There weren’t many augmentations in the eighties when I graduated from college, so my rather ample cleavage stood out. I felt proud of my figure. But the toll of running 6 days a week with athletic bras of questionable quality and nursing three children finally caught up with me. I felt sad about my new shape.
I started to look into the possibility of a breast lift or other corrective surgery. I brought up my concerns to my husband. He didn’t think it was necessary, but understood how it bothered me. I’d have to tuck my breasts carefully into bras or they would droop terribly. The cute running bras were out of the question. I’d joke to my sister that if I’d lie down on my back, they’d fall into my armpits! I decided to set up a consultation. I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little nervous, but very excited too. Dr. Bashioum was very easy to talk to and I felt comfortable asking him questions. After leaving the consultation, I was even more excited and very well informed! It turns out that I was a wonderful candidate for elective surgery. I set up a surgery date for a short while later. I then started counting the days until surgery. I’d dream of having my pre-baby body again.
When I arrived the day of surgery, I felt like a princess. It sounds strange, but I really did feel special. Everyone was taking such great care of me. When I woke up, I felt a lot of pressure on my chest. I don’t remember too much other than my nurse giving me ice. I went home, had lunch, watched TV and iced. I received a call that night from Dr Bashioum to check on me. I was doing great and I didn’t have much discomfort. The next day, I took a shower as instructed and looked at my new breasts. The swelling made my chest look kind of strange. I thought, “Oh, what did I do?†A few weeks later the swelling went down and my new shape took form. I really love my new breasts. I can wear nice bras and workout tops now. The hardest thing for me during recovery was to take it easy. I couldn’t wait to start my work outs again. I’d do this surgery again in a minute. I just wish I would have done it a few years earlier. Now I feel much better about myself.
Patient name withheld upon their request.
Female Genital Surgery
July 10th, 2009
New York City now boasts of an art exhibit featuring before and after plastic surgery pictures. According to Allure Magazine, all aspects of plastic surgery are featured in the exhibit, including cleft lip and palate correction, nose surgery, and face lift surgery. The surgical photos which drew the greatest attention were the before and after pictures of genital surgery for women. It was not clear if the fascination was because this type of surgery was so novel to the viewers or because there was a genuine interest in the procedure.
It was pointed out that this seems to be inconsistent in a world where female mutilation still occurs. Yet it is embraced in some circles as an acceptable alternative for women. In fact, women who have undergone genital mutilation often turn to reconstructive surgery once they have emigrated to western cultures. Female genital mutilation is an involuntary lay practice carried on outside the purview of medial care. Genital aesthetic surgery is an elective surgery performed by physicians in appropriate hospitals and clinics. In addition, mutilation is designed to minimize sexual desirability while cosmetic genital surgery is designed to maximize sexuality. They are completely different and unrelated.
An interesting study is now underway by the World Health Organization. The title, “Female genital mutilation and other harmful practices, a multi-country study on gender, sexuality and vaginal practices” seems to be inconsistent with its own findings. It was supposed to be, “A study on harmful sexual practice that is being conducted in: Indonesia, Mozambique, South Africa and Thailand.” The study seems to be confusing and perhaps attempts to avoid any politically incorrect findings. Their findings seem to minimize harmful aspects and focus on some of what genital aesthetic surgery is trying to accomplish:
- “Vaginal practices to tighten the vagina during sex are more common than acknowledged”
- “Practices are not always aimed at “drying” the vagina; women focused more on “closing, warming and tightening”
- “Motives for the practices are linked to anxiety and competition among women to gain or hold on to sexual partners”
- “Many practices are linked to a desire to improve sexual relations and necessitate ‘skin to skin’ contact and thus eliminate the possible use of condoms”
- “There are similar practices in different countries.”
The Allure article goes on to quote 2008 statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery which report a sharp decline in female genital aesthetic surgery among plastic surgeon members. I suspect this number is inaccurate overall, since much of this surgery is being done by gynecologists, not plastic surgeons. In fact, recently a med-spa dedicated solely to vaginal and female genital surgery, called Phit, has been established in New York City. You have to give them credit on the name!
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