Evolution of Aesthetic Medicine and its Implications on Modern Society

(Stein, 2015) The dramatic growth in this industry has lead to a change in attitudes, with society accepting the extremes of surgery as the ordinary, for the sake of accomplishing beauty. It’s popularity continually growing has lead body modifications to become apart of regular day life. A trend has even adapted of women even fitting small procedures, such as botox into their lunch break (Kay 2014). Being no different as to wearing a corset, cosmetic surgery is now recognised as just another beauty regime for women, as labelled here, “Cosmetic surgery has become the new makeup” (Stein 2015).

The article The Making of the Modern Face: Cosmetic Surgery by Elizabeth Haiken summaries briefly the American culture that is at the origin of cosmetic surgery. It reports how cosmetic surgery emerged from reconstructive surgery and how such a practice had effect on common culture. It also deals with the racism that emerged from the restrictive immigration laws which favoured Europeans and, the consequences of these laws on others minorities and the appeal of cosmetic surgery it created. Moreover, it looks over the surgeons who perform cosmetic surgeries and their thoughts about cosmetic

Although improving appearance through cosmetic surgery seems optimistic, risks and possible complications are associated with cosmetic surgery. Patients’ susceptibleness to these complications vary but are certainly issues that should be taken into consideration. Many patients don’t take into consideration the risks of cosmetic surgery.

Chang, K. (2014). The Business of Cosmetic Surgery. New York City, New York: The New York Times. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from

Cosmetic surgery is becoming the most popular category of surgery, for both men and women. According to Alexander Edmonds “Beauty is becoming a more visible part of medicine, and health risks may become less visible.” Since only one-third of surgeries

Plastic surgery began as bodily reconstruction for wounded soldiers in World War I. The surgery developed in stages, starting with correcting traumatic injuries and deformed facial features. The more cosmetic focus began in the 1970’s, with creating “perfected” facial features and making aesthetically pleasing body parts. Cosmetic surgery boomed in the 1990’s, with 1.2 million procedures performed in the United States alone (plasticsurgery.org). The swiftness in which these procedures have infiltrated society has lead to a change in our view of the value of the body. The modern ease and accessibility of cosmetic surgery has intensified the need for external beauty and has influenced the loss of personal identity.

The negativity like vanity, superficiality and inauthenticity associated with cosmetic surgery found a new legality with public culture of post-feminist ways to imagine the surgical subject. The pessimistic stigma that was attached to cosmetic surgery was attributed in part to feminist

This rise in popularity can be validated by the growth of social media, and its impact on the millennial generation, along with the new advancements of technology, the affordability and desperation of millions to achieve a perfect-look in the 21st century. According to a study done in 2015 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2015 had , 15.9 million surgical and minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2015, and since 2000, overall procedures have risen 115

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.

Sullivan is a nonfiction account of the political and social views of cosmetic surgery as it grows into a custom of society today. The unique point of view the author provides allows the reader to fully grasp the many components that have made the reputation of cosmetic surgery. This insight acquired from the abundance of sources cited in the bibliography of this book ensures that the information and data provided is credible and relevant to the topic at hand. This book can relate to virtually any topic of discussion pertaining to cosmetic surgery as a growing industry. The broad spectrum of topics, viewpoints, and references throughout this book will easily weave into the support of my claim that the growing industry of cosmetic surgery demands greater recognition in society. Specifically, points in the book that stood out to potentially support my claim include, the potential problems the future of plastic surgery holds, the varying consequences a changing ideal of beauty entails, and finally, the power of commercialism in today's society. This book, in my educated opinion, would be a great choice for anyone uneducated on aesthetic surgery or anyone thinking of getting or performing such

107) Second, magazines geared toward women often run stories focusing on the ordinary woman’s experiences with surgery of the benefits of surgically improving one’s appearance. Also, advertisements typically promote the benefits of cosmetic surgery using gendered stereotypes, with men represented as concerned with virility and professional competitiveness whereas women are investing in aesthetic improvements. Therefore, the idea of personal transformations and self-improvement is not particularly novel but standard approach that has become entrenched in mass media representations of cosmetic surgery (Adams, 2009, p. 108). However, the potential health risks are downplayed and negative outcomes are attributed to the unpredictability of the aesthetic results or poor surgeon selection. More importantly, these frames tend to diverge from the actual surgical experience, which rather being neat and instantaneous, is often complex and painful. Nevertheless, it is the media-mediated frame that dominates the broader social discussion of cosmetic surgery and often reduces it to a consumable lifestyle option as opposed to a complicated medical procedure fraught with potential risks and uncertainties.

Plastic Surgery has become a worldwide epidemic in today’s world. The number of plastic surgeries continues to increase since 2010. In today’s day and age, plastic surgery is one of the most popular and requested procedures. Females are opting to have plastic surgery because they dislike their body image. Society has impacted many people by brain washing them to believe that a person’s body has to be perfect. In order for one to be considered beautiful, television and media influence people’s perceptions of beauty.

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

“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.

In recent years, it has become very popular to have cosmetic surgery. Over of 120,000 surgical procedures it was estimated that were performed in the UK during 2011. Cosmetic surgery procedures are carried out in women more that men about 9 in every 10 ,and the cosmetic treatments non-surgical, such as Botox, accounting for over 90% of all cosmetic procedures it is even more popular than surgical procedures.(6)