Cosmetic Surgery Too Much of a Good Thing?
November 26th, 2012
When is cosmetic surgery too much of a good thing? I filmed a segment for the local Fox News Affiliate here in Minneapolis, hosted by Medical Correspondent, Dr. Archelle Georgiou. They filmed part of the segment while I was performing a lower blephaorplasty or lower eyelid surgery. My patient did have some other plastic surgery in the past and while gathering routine background information, Dr. Georgiou inquired whether I felt that the patient was perhaps choosing cosmetic surgery too often. In other words, did I think the patient suffered from a possible cosmetic surgery addiction? As with all my patients, I am careful to evaluate a patient’s motivations for surgery and attempt to uncover any unhealthy desires for seeking cosmetic surgery. In this case, I feel confident that my patient had legitimate concerns regarding the unsightly bags under her eyes and that she was an excellent candidate for eyelid surgery. She expressed realistic expectations from the surgery and in my opinion; she is certainly not a cosmetic surgery addict.
However, while we are on the topic, let me elaborate. There are several characteristics that are common among cosmetic surgery addicts and for the most part, they are not dissimilar to other addictions. Patients that have Body Dysmorphic Disorder are likely to seek cosmetic surgery to correct “perceived†physical flaws. This disorder has significant psychological components and it is unlikely that any amount of cosmetic surgery will correct feelings of having physical deformity that may not exist. This disorder leads some patients to have excessive cosmetic surgery. As a physician, I feel a professional and moral obligation to refer patients that exhibit these difficulties to the proper psychological care when it is appropriate.
Without a doubt there are patients who do suffer from this problem. The pop culture media machine is quick to point out the cosmetic surgery obsessions of Michael Jackson, New York’s “Cat Woman†and Joan Rivers, to name just a few.
Steps in Cosmetic Surgery: Dissection
August 29th, 2012
Step 2: Dissection.
Over 1.5 million cosmetic surgeries were performed in the US last year according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Let’s continue my series about the four basic universal steps in performing these elective cosmetic surgery procedures. The next step in the surgery after the incision has been made is to do the dissection. Once the incision is made and the skin has been divided, access to the underlying tissues is possible. Some degree of dissection is necessary to proceed with the next step of surgery. Dissection is simply the division or separation of underlying structures in order to facilitate the proper cosmetic change.
There are essentially two ways to accomplish this step. Either a combination of skin and fat is released or skin, fat and muscle are released. This choice depends on the type of cosmetic surgery being performed. For example, liposuction releases skin and fat from the underlying fat and muscle. Breast enlargement surgery releases skin, fat, breast tissue and muscle from ribs and muscle in order to properly place the implant.
Please check back next time for more of this series.
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