8 million); "chemical peel" (1 million); "microdermabrasion" (828,000); laser hair removal (783,000); and "sclerotherapy" (590,000).
Among the various kinds of cosmetic surgery, there are several that are not at all related with vanity, but instead are corrective in nature and dealing with a serious impairment on the part of the patient. For example, an article in HIV Medicine (published by the British HIV Association) discusses facial lipoatrophy which HIV patients often are embarrassed by. The problem is a quality of life issue, and not just that a person wants to look good and acceptable. Facial lipoatrophy can cause an erosion of "self-image and self-esteem," the article explains.
What is facial lipoatrophy? The Web site www.aidsmeds.comexplains that facial lipoatrophy (also called "facial wasting") is not life threatening, but is "stigmatizing" and can contribute "significantly" to an HIV patient's depression. It is believed to be a side effect of some of the anti-HIV therapies that are used on patients. Facial lipoatrophy actually refers to an "abnormal loss of body fat" right under the skin; and the most embarrassing place for this loss of fat to occur is in the face, although lipoatrophy can also show up in the legs, arms, buttocks and around the waist. An HIV patient with facial lipoatrophy suffers from sunken cheeks; the cheeks appear to be hollow, and the facial muscles can be seen and felt through the skin, the article explains on www.aidsmeds.com.
A possible remedy for facial lipoatrophy is presented in the HIV Medicine article, which reports the results of a study of the long-term safety and efficacy of "injectable poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) to correct the sunken cheeks and hollow facial appearance. Thirty HIV patients who showed obvious signs of facial lipoatrophy agreed to undergo injections of PLLA. None of these had ever received treatment for their facial lipoatrophy. Of those patients receiving injections, some suffered from mild symptoms, some had severe symptoms; 27 of the original 30 HIV patients returned for the remainder of the study, which consisted of three sessions, two weeks apart. There was one case of infection and nine cases of "injection-site nodules." All the patients had nodules but aside from the nine mentioned in the previous sentence, the rest of the nodules were very small. The results of the study showed that the injections did in fact help the patients' faces retain some or much of their original fullness, but the article recommends that for future injections, a more "dilute concentration of PLLA" should be used. The thought is that to heavy a concentration of PLLA into the face caused some of the nodules to appear, although in the end of the study, none of the patients' nodules was severe enough to cause embarrassment. The bottom line is, this kind of surgery for HIV patients is a classic example of necessary cosmetic surgery, and it brings relief to...
The patients have traces of "Body Dysmorphic Disorder repeatedly change or examine the offending body part to the point that the obsession interferes with other aspects of their life, several studies show that seven to twelve percent of plastic surgery patients have some form of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and the majority of Body Dysmorphic Disorder patients who have cosmetic surgery do not experience improvement in their Body Dysmorphic Disorder
("Tummy Tuck (Abdominoplasty)," 2007) 5. Breast Reduction (Mammaplasty): Breast reduction in women, performed 160,531 times in 2005, closely follows tummy tuck as the 5th most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the United States. It is directed at women with very large, pendulous breasts who are extremely self-conscious or may be experiencing other medical problems because of their large breasts. The procedure removes fat, glandular tissue, and skin from the breasts,
Even in-office procedures like Botox and collagen injections can cause allergic reactions or injection-site infections in some people. When a person undergoes surgery that involves anesthesia and cutting, the risks become even greater. Not only is there a risk of a fatal reaction to anesthesia or other drugs used during the procedure, a surgeon may make a mistake and cut the wrong place, or the person just may not
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). People have gone overboard with excessive surgeries which are never enough. 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
Cosmetic Surgery Is Good Many people think that cosmetic surgery is not good because it is not necessary, and that people should simply accept the way that God (or Nature) made them. However, merely because something is not natural and not necessary does not make it bad. In most temperate climates clothing is not actually necessary, but people still choose to wear it. Televisions are not natural or necessary, but people
While it may seem our culture is concerned only with capitalism and the gain of economic surplus (Bell, 1975) there are many real reasons young teenagers ask for surgery. Parents, unlike children, may often offer a more objective vantage from which surgery, even elective surgery, can be scrutinized (Adams, 1996). Parents have the ability to ask the cosmetic surgeon whether they think a procedure will be necessary or whether a
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now