Over-weight Patients and Cosmetic Surgery
December 12th, 2011
Can I have cosmetic surgery if I’m over-weight?
I advise my patients to be within a few pounds of their ideal weight before having elective cosmetic surgery. According to new research conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine, over-weight patients are nearly 12 times more likely to suffer a complication following elective plastic surgery than their normal-weight counterparts.
Americans are getting fat. 34% of adults in the United States are now estimated to be obese (those with a body mass index above 30), up from just 15 percent a decade ago. Meanwhile, the number of people nationwide having elective plastic surgery has also increased in recent years – with annual plastic surgery volume up considerably during the last decade. Physicians ought to keep a watchful eye on the scale when it comes to evaluating patients for elective surgery.
Next time: Patient Selection for Cosmetic Surgery
The Halo Effect: Power of First Impressions
August 4th, 2011
Are first impressions important? Do attractive people have an unfair advantage? According to the halo effect, while not a fair or necessarily an accurate assessment, first impressions are indeed very powerful. When people receive positive visual messages and cues from a pleasing appearance, they will assume that other aspects about you are equally as positive. This compounding effect is referred to as the halo effect.
Solomon Asch, the human behaviorist who is considered an early pioneer of social psychology is well-know for research in this area. The results of his famous study suggest that attractiveness is a central trait, so we take it another step further to presume all the other traits of an attractive person are just as attractive and sought after. The linking of disconnected traits is the basis for making first impressions and why they are so hard to overcome.
As silly as it seems, results from a more recent study by Bryn Mawr College confirms his earlier research. As a cosmetic surgeon, I make a living helping people improve their appearance. I do believe in the notion that when you look good, you often feel better, but I find it fascinating that the perceptions of appearance and physical beauty also involve the unconscious. I’ll think twice now about running up to the grocery store in my dirty gardening clothes, lest I be judged too harshly!
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