Dying to be Beautiful: The Risks of Cosmetic Surgery

In “The Pitfalls of Plastic Surgery,” by Camille Paglia, she argues that American surgeons are being too narrow minded with their work because they use the same models as a representation of what their clients can look like. She suggests that getting plastic surgery has become such a normal thing in America and that society pushes women to get work done in order to get that “perfect” look. Paglia also points out that plastic surgery has “leveled the playing field” with wives and their husbands mistresses (694). Also, she believes that plastic surgery is not only critical in keeping a job, but also in keeping a relationship. Although I agree with some of Paglia’s arguments, I view some of the issues differently such as, needing plastic surgery to keep a marriage, that plastic surgery is for non intellectuals, that Hollywood’s environment encourages women to change their looks, and that nothing good can come out of plastic surgery.

According to Image vision, there are many reasons why a person may want plastic surgery. This may be due to social acceptability, change of facial muscles, aging, removal of scars and moles, skin diseases, change gender, and facial trauma (Michele Nappia Stefano Ricciardia MassimoT istarell, 2016). Over time, the surgery may change the facial features enough that the person's face is unrecognizable. is up to the patient to have surgery. Plastic surgery is related to a complex of social

According to Davis (2007), the average cost for a cosmetic procedure nationwide ranges from $3000 to $7000 and that’s without the hospital fees and fees for any other items.

Despite wanting a new look, or a boost of self- confidence, cosmetic surgery has major side-affects, is expensive, and can cause death, so is it really worth it?

Cosmetic surgery, a type of elective surgery undertaken to alter a person’s appearance for reasons beyond injury, illness, or disease, has become increasingly pervasive in society in the past few decades despite sparking controversial debates. (Coleman, 171) While reconstructive surgery is condoned, cosmetic surgery occupies a gray area where physicians “dedicated to saving lives, healing, and promoting health” perform “invasive surgical operations on healthy bodies for the sake of improving appearance.” (Miller, 353) Nevertheless, demand for it is higher than ever with people looking to surgery as an easy method for changing their appearances. This essay will argue that cosmetic surgery is indeed ethical for physicians to perform by examining it through the perspective of the four basic principles of medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.

Everyday people suffer from from small things in their appearance that they find to be imperfections, such as something like a mole or a cleft lip that can leave them feeling uncomfortable and with a bad perception of their image. Many people turn to cosmetic surgery in order to change the way they look and feel more confident with their new characteristics. Cosmetic surgery is something that can change the way people feel by empowering their image and boosting self-esteem because it allows them to correct what they deem to be physical deformities and abnormalities, therefore it should not be considered elective surgery by health insurance companies as it helps their mental health.

Cosmetic surgery is a high in-demand, popular medical procedure that can improve your physical appearance. It can be features on the face or body. This is the general idea behind what we as individuals believe it will do. We believe that surgery will improve how look better, help build higher self-esteem, feel better about ourselves, and grab people’s attention. However, what is the motivation behind why people want to improve their appearance? The influence that society and media have on the population today could not be any higher. Society feels that they can say it can criticize a person’s appearance and weight and think that repercussions will not occur. If making someone feel terrible about themselves is not worse enough, it influences people to consider getting some form of cosmetic surgery, in order to satisfy societies demands. Reality television has done the same and is another factor to why people consider cosmetic surgery. This encourages a person to want to look like someone they idolize on television. There are shows that exist about cosmetic surgery that further inspire a person to alter the way they look. Society, social media, and reality television are leading women of all ages to pursue cosmetic surgery to preserve, change, alternate, or reform the body and face in order to satisfy the harsh views and standards set that determine the “perfect body and face.”

In a society so consumed by the ideology of beauty, it makes sense as to why so many women these days undergo cosmetic surgery. The definition of beauty has long been obstructed and changed. In the past, if you look at the woman, you will see they are curvy, during this era being thin meant you were poor where as a beautiful and wealthy woman would be plump because she could afford fine dining. As society has changed, being slender has become the new trend, creating the idea that in order to be truly beautiful one must be thin. The movie stars in Hollywood, although most people realize the beautifying changes that are made to the pictures, this idea of 'beauty ' and 'desire ' still lingers in the mind of whoever comes across it. Our society is bombarded with several different ideologies of beauty but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The beauty standards that have been set should not be what are shaping people around the world and influencing them to go through with plastic surgery. The use of plastic surgery has changed from a medical procedure used to reconstruct the wounded or people with birth defects to reconstructing something people do not like about themselves. Plastic surgery was used during WWI in 1910 and after the war, skin grafting grew. The first training program in the United States was in 1924 thanks to Dr. John Davis. In 1950-1959, plastic surgery was used broadly to repair cleft pallet. It wasn’t until about

If one is considering cosmetic surgery I suggest reconsidering. Research shows cosmetic surgery can be a risky and costly procedure. Society is pressuring people to look more attractive. Media shows actors to be flawless and the public feels that one should be compared to these actors. Cosmetic surgery is becoming more popular is today’s culture. People are turning to cosmetic surgery for many reasons, some of them are not healthy.

We live in a society where people worship beauty. As far as recorded history people have gone to extremes to seek beauty. From foot binding in China to wearing strangulating corsets in Victorian era. People from different race and culture have experimented in every way possible way to look beautiful prior to this popular age of plastic surgery. It’s very common to hear people complain about their appearance, whether it’s their crocked nose, thin lips or flat chest. Remarkably, plastic surgery has been the solution for people who complain. Most people tend to think of plastic surgery as only cosmetic surgery and not as reconstructive surgeries. Plastic surgeries seems to be an invention of modern technology; however its roots lie in the ancient history of India. An Indian surgeon contributed towards the establishment of plastic surgery, it was intended to correct physical deformities acquired during birth, accident, disease or war. These surgeries did not gain the popularity it has today until the First World War. It was during the late 60’s, when doctors started realizing the endless possibilities of plastic surgeries. With the help of this surgery a trained surgeon can replace an amputate body part, remove skin cancer, get rid of unattractive scars and visible birthmarks or rescaling a nose or enhance body parts. Today more and more people from different age groups opt for plastic surgeries to obtain dramatic physical changes. These surgeries were envisioned to restore

Moreover, plastic surgery is an expensive procedure ranging up to $6,000 or more. It can put tremendous financial pressure on patient and their family. While assessing the cost of the surgery, people tend to forget the cost of the postoperative medication. And sometimes, people have to pay for a secondary surgeries because of dissatisfaction with results. Most insurance policies do not pay for elective procedures such as plastic surgery. Other disadvantage of plastic surgery is that it is time-consuming. Patients must plan time off to recuperate enough to return to work and daily activities. Lastly, dead can be caused by plastic surgery. The bigger the procedure, the higher the risk of complication should be aware of, for instance, infection, hematoma, allergic reactions and many more. Many celebrities have died from plastic surgery like Solange Magnano, Donda West. Though death caused by plastic surgery are rare, the possibility of death cannot be ruled out. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) has reported that within more than 400,000 operations, which performed in accredited facilities, the death rate was 57,000 cases- extremely low. Nevertheless, we can be one of that 57,000 cases.

“Don’t like the way you look? Ready for a quick and easy change? We can help you with one simple cosmetic surgery.” We have all heard or seen advertisements like this on television or in magazines, but why is cosmetic surgery so appealing to people, especially women? Cosmetic surgery is used all over the world to enhance one’s features and make people “happy,” but is it worth it? Is it beauty or is it a beast having cosmetic surgery done? There are many options and things to consider when thinking about getting any kind of surgery. Body image is a huge aspect especially when there is a demand for beauty by society. The cost of cosmetic surgery and the dangers are also something to take into consideration, but there are many positives in getting this type of surgery.

Are you aware of the risks and disadvantages of cosmetic surgery? Cosmetic surgery can be very risky and dangerous if you are not aware of the outcomes. If you are thinking of going through a procedures you need to do a lot of research of what the pros and cons of the procedure you are about to undergo. Cosmetic surgeries are done all over the world and the pricing varies depending on the surgeons, and it can be very expensive. The outcome of the surgery won’t always come to what you wanted but still you have to pay the price. Not only that you have to leave with it and you will want another procedure which you’ll have to pay another amount of money. Why go through all that when? We should be happy with who we are and appreciate what you

Messages within the media indirectly contribute to the rising rate of plastic surgery. Desires to meet the idealisms of media representations are often so consuming that people demand plastic surgery despite all of its associated risks and controversies. To compensate for this up and coming surgical trend, technology has developed more reasonable and attainable options for the public. Millions of operations are now able to be performed on those wishing to fulfill specific gratifcations toward their own personal appearance and/or self-esteem. This is a serious problem in that people are unaware or just simply

     Plastic surgery ranges from one- thousand dollars to three- thousand dollars or more depending on the surgery (Body fat reduction: Suction-Assisted Lipectomy). There are plenty types of plastic surgery. One type is called liposuction. The best candidates for liposuction are of relatively normal weight with pockets of excess fat in particular areas. They should be physically healthy, psychologically stable, and realistic in your expectations. An important thing is to have firm and elastic