Is Plastic Surgery Right for You?

With today’s cultural emphasis on health, longevity and wellness, cosmetic surgery has become a popular accepted extension of improving one’s self image.
At a press conference on “Redefining Vanity”, a social psychologist at Stanford University described a new world in which plastic surgery is acceptable and unstigmatized; a world in which it is “healthy” to do whatever it takes to feel better about yourself. It is a world in which “women and men are increasingly pro-choice about appearance enhancement.”
Women generally do not list aging, career advancement, or attracting a mate as their primary motivation for cosmetic surgery – the top reason given by most women is to feel better about themselves. Cosmetic surgery today is not just about self as in ‘selfish’. It’s about self as in ‘self-worth’, ‘self-confidence’ and ‘self-fulfilling’. To suggest that changing one’s looks can profoundly affect the quality of one’s life is extreme; however, small details of our appearance can be critical determinants of how well we do in our personal life, interactions amongst friends and our professional life.
The circumstances for each individual will be unique. While making the decision whether or not one is a good candidate for cosmetic surgery, it is important to consider the following: nasal surgery will never cure depression, a tummy tuck will not secure a job for which one is not qualified, and a breast reduction will never make your parents or boyfriend love you more.

What cosmetic surgery can provide is the combination of a self-confidence boost and the edge that good looks confer in this society. Potential patients who seem seriously depressed or looking for a quick-fix or impossible results should consider other means for addressing issues that surgical intervention could never resolve. Some patients will take heed in this advice while others will continue to look for a surgeon willing to perform the “quick-fix”. However, the vast majority of people who want a breast augmentation, nasal surgery or liposuction are not emotionally unstable or selfish people. They are realistic women who think a smaller nose, slimmer thighs, or bigger breasts will make them feel good about themselves and be noticed and approved by others.
Can plastic surgery change your life? Yes. Will it? That depends on several factors, most notably: what you look like, what you think you look like, and what aspect of your life needs changing. If your answers point toward having cosmetic surgery, go for it – and focus on how wonderful the new you is going to feel.
Sources: cosmetic surgery

Europeans Take Beauty Trip to U.S.

Many Europeans once considered American plastic surgeons -- with their top-notch skills and celebrity clientele -- to be an extravagance. Now, they might be a bargain.
Surgeons in New York, Florida and California say they are seeing an influx of overseas patients who are taking advantage of the weak dollar to schedule cosmetic surgery, sometimes combining it with shopping and sightseeing excursions.

Michael C. Witte
"I wanted to have a face-lift, but I was on a very tight budget," says Leslie Reynolds, a manager of a London skin-care clinic who is in her 50s. After conferring with a plastic surgery consultant, she selected a surgeon in Palm Beach, Fla., and flew there for surgery, followed by a two-week stay at a beach resort. She says her total expenses came to about $14,000, less than she would have paid for a face-lift at a private medical clinic in London.
U.S. hospitals and prominent plastic surgeons have begun to tailor marketing campaigns targeted at Europeans, touting both their medical expertise as well as lower cost. Some U.S. plastic surgeons are promoting themselves through in-flight magazines read by international travelers. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in Manhattan, one of the U.S.'s oldest specialty hospitals, is preparing to launch a marketing campaign in London. The initiative is "capitalizing on the value of the dollar" as well as a recognition that New York is "very much a destination," says Allan Fine, a hospital vice president.
In the past three years, the U.S. dollar has fallen by 24% against the euro, and 11% against the British pound.
"With the exchange rate in favor of most European currencies, cosmetic surgery in New York has become more affordable and less expensive than in Europe," according to a draft of a brochure the hospital is getting ready to distribute. Face-lifts, eyelid surgery and nasal plastic surgery are among the featured offerings. The hospital said it is also planning an ad program in some specialized regional publications in the U.K. A plastic surgeon in London has been lined up by the hospital to care for the medical travelers after they return home. On an adjusted basis, prices are expected to be about 25% lower than for comparable services in London, according to the hospital.
While there are no data on how many foreigners are traveling to the U.S. for plastic surgery, patients, surgeons and consultants say they are seeing an increase. "There's no question this is a trend now," says Wendy Lewis, a plastic surgery consultant who regularly travels between London and New York. "The psychological cachet of having something done in New York or L.A. carries weight with many Europeans," she adds. She estimates that it costs the equivalent of $30,000 to have a face-lift with eyelid surgery in London, including one night in a hospital and a semiprivate room. In New York, it's about $22,000, so the difference pays for the trip, she says.
The arrival of foreign patients in the U.S. marks a shift in the way medical tourism has flowed when it is cost-driven. Many uninsured Americans travel to Asia for procedures like heart surgery or hip replacements. Cosmetic operations account for only a fraction of medical travel, according to a recent study prepared by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The overall medical-travel market is small, but its potential for growth is significant, the study concludes.
The U.S. has always been a center for plastic surgery, not because of price, but because of high quality, says Foad Nahai, president of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Europeans are realizing that for the price of a surgeon in their own country they can afford an internationally recognized specialist in the U.S.
Bryan Forley, a plastic surgeon in New York, says he first noticed an uptick in international patients two or three years ago. His office arranges lodging and nursing care for overseas patients at hotels near his office in Manhattan. A British patient who came for surgery this year says she was surprised by the personal service she received from Dr. Forley, including a post-surgical checkup at her hotel on a Sunday morning.
Many surgeons acknowledge that the U.S. economic slowdown is forcing them to work harder to find patients. "We are willing to try other markets because of what's happening" to consumer spending here, says John Sherman, a plastic surgeon in New York. He says some Europeans have found him through a full-page advertisement in American Airlines' American Way in-flight magazine. The ads, listing more than half a dozen of "The Best Plastic Surgeons in America," are designed to publicize endorsements by Castle Connolly, an independent provider of physician information.
Kim Koger, the Florida surgeon who operated on Ms. Reynolds, says he never expected his practice to have so many international patients. "I'm not sure if it's the nice euro exchange rate" or because the European jet set likes to vacation in Florida, he says. Dr. Koger says he has operated on patients from Spain, France, Germany and the U.K., including some who own homes in South Florida.
Ms. Reynolds says that after initially contacting Dr. Koger, his assistant suggested staying at the nearby Jupiter Beach Resort, which has tennis courts, pools and a gym. She says that she and a friend arrived two days before surgery and stayed for 12 days afterward.
Ms. Reynolds says she is very happy with the results of her surgery. "Now, one of my sisters wants to go after Christmas and I might go with her to see Dr. Koger for a checkup," she says.

Source: online wsj

FOR A PSYCHOLOGICAL UPLIFT

New York: Breast reconstruction after cancer surgery can have lasting benefits for women’s psychological well-being and body image, a new study suggests.
Research has shown that for women who have a mastectomy to treat breast cancer, reconstructive surgery can provide a psychological lift, helping to improve self-esteem and body image.
But whether those benefits last — and whether they differ based on the type of breast reconstruction — has been less clear. In the current study, of 173 breast reconstruction patients, researchers found that many of the psychological gains women had shortly after the surgery were still apparent two years later.
On average, the women were still reporting improvements in energy, anxiety and ability to work and enjoy social activities. And the type of reconstruction had “surprisingly limited effect”, say researchers, led by Dunya Atisha of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. They report the findings in the June issue of the Annals of Surgery.
The study included 173 women who had undergone breast reconstruction at one of 12 US medical centres. The majority had immediate reconstruction, done at the time of their mastectomy, but some waited to have the procedure.
The patients also varied in the type of reconstruction they had. The majority underwent a procedure known as TRAM, where tissue from the lower abdomen is used to reconstruct the breast, while about one-quarter were given artificial implants.
In general, the team found, the longterm psychological benefits were similar regardless of the type of surgery the women had. There were some differences, however, between women who had had immediate reconstruction and those who had delayed the procedure.
Women in the latter group tended to have fewer gains in psychological wellbeing — the one exception being bodyimage improvements.
The reasons for the differences between the two groups are not clear. But the decision to delay breast reconstruction is not always based on a woman’s preferences; some, for example, may need to delay it because they are having radiation therapy after their mastectomy.
Atisha’s team says studies should continue to follow breast reconstruction patients over the long term to see how different procedures affect their psychological well-being.

Source: Times of India