Preview

Pros and Cons of Cosmetic Surgery

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1049 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pros and Cons of Cosmetic Surgery
In a society focused on looks one may hastily consider cosmetic surgery to fix an abnormal nose or shed a few unwanted pounds. Is it worth it? What are the risks versus rewards? In this essay I will explore the pros as well as the cons of cosmetic surgery because as with many choices in life, there are many risks as well as rewards.

Cosmetic surgery originated in ancient India, but became more prominent starting with the First World War. Medical professionals started exploring new techniques to treat wounded and disfigured men maimed by the war. Today plastic surgery consists of two types: reconstructive plastic surgery and cosmetic plastic surgery. Reconstructive surgery is just what it sounds like; reconstructing a part of the body that is abnormal due to a birth defect or injury. Cosmetic plastic surgery, which is what will be discussed in this essay, is surgery that is performed on parts of the body that are already normal. In other words, it is surgery that is performed, strictly to improve a structure of the body.

With the prospect of having those perfect breasts or washboard tummy, what could possibly hinder one from going under the knife? There are quite a few risks as well as deterring factors to think about; such as a patient’s current health condition, recovery, infection and lastly cosmetic surgery addiction. People who have current heart conditions, diabetes or are overweight are at the greatest risk. Patients must have a full medical checkup prior to pursuing cosmetic surgery. The “tummy tuck” is regarded by surgeons as the most dangerous procedure because such invasive operations carry the risk of stokes, bleeding and post-operative complications. Incidentally, this is the most requested procedure among high risk patients. (Cosmetic Surgery in the Spotlight Again, 2007).

What happens when a surgery goes wrong and there are undesired effects? Bad plastic surgery can happen in any cosmetic surgery procedure. Some are

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    history of tummy tuck

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Following the two world wars of the 20th century, the field of plastic surgery, especially reconstructive, advanced considerably. This advancement also had an effect on the…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of the complications that may occur after surgery is scarring. Scarring after a surgery procedure may affect ones decision to go through with the surgery. If a teen already feels uncomfortable with the natural look of her body, after scarring that will not change or worst case scenario, she may feel worse about her body and feel like she has to cover it up to camouflage it. Another con to surgery is obsession. After the satisfaction of having a successful surgery, a teen may feel like she must continue on with surgeries to begin a process of changing, altering or fixing any minor flaws in order to gain full satisfaction. Having multiple surgeries increases the risk or serious complications. It is possible to for someone to undergo too much surgery where they will eventually experience long term effects. In some cases, depending on the surgery being done, there are various complications for each procedure. For example, when it comes to surgeries like breast augmentations, most women have at least one serious complication within the first three years with complications including infection, painful hardening of the breast , scarring, loss of nipple sensation, etc. (Zuckerman, par.4) Death is one of the most severe outcomes of plastic surgery. It can be due to actual complications from the procedure or from the patient committing suicide. According to Randy and Lori Sansone, “In the past seven…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You have the choice to change whatever you want and take the risks that come with it. Many people have stated that it has helped them with self confidence and overall it has had a positive affect on there body image. The main reasons that plastic surgery gets such a bad wrap is because you only hear about the bad horror stories. The ones that make the new are usually not your average Joes that comes out with a little lift here and there, but the ones that have been taken out of proportion and usually are more extreme cases…

    • 1716 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cosmetic or plastic surgery is the alteration or change of a structure of the body through a medical procedure. In today’s society, many teenagers struggle with the effects from society. A lot of teenagers go through changes in their body types and structures when they reach puberty. The top three most popular procedures that teenagers undergo consist of Rhinoplasty, Ear surgery, and reduction mammoplasty (McGrath). Rhinoplasty is commonly called a nose job, and reduction mammoplasty is also known as breast reduction surgery. The surgeries being done vary between boys and girls and all ages from thirteen to nineteen. Although some plastic surgery being done to teenagers is justified, most find a lot of it controversial. Examples of justified…

    • 1855 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Plastic Surgery Essay

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, humans have engaged in self-improvement. So there should be no surprise that plastic surgery is considered one of the oldest healing arts in the world. The fact that there are documents dating back 4,000 years of surgical means that are correcting face injuries. Many of these medical and surgical advances came from Europe, there are a lot of strides being made in the U.S. World War 1 made plastic surgery a need for…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Do you know what plastic surgery is, plastic surgery comes from Greek words plastic meaning plastikos, which means to mold or shape. The first plastic surgeries were developed to close a difficult wound or replace tissue lost due to injury or cancer. These procedures often involved the formation of a skin flap to reshape or mold the defect so as to approximate the original shape. There is a difference between cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is performed to reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve appearance and self-esteem. Reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the he body, caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease. Plastic surgery is mostly performed to change the appearance of someone physically.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plastic surgery refers to surgical correction or restoration of a form of function to change the appearance of one’s body or characteristics. There are many different types of plastic surgery that surgeons do to make people feel better about themselves. Below I have listed some of the different types of surgeries that people have that are the most common. Abdominoplasty, also known as a tummy tuck, makes the abdomen area firmer. Blepharoplasty reshapes the upper or lower eyelid. Breast augmentation, breast reduction and breast lift to enlarge, reduce and reshape the breasts. Buttock augmentation is to either lift or enlarge the buttocks through inter section of implants. Chemicals are used to improve and smooth the facial skin that is affected by acne, pock, scars, or wrinkles. Face-lift’s to minimize the wrinkles by removal of excess facial skin. Liposuction is to remove the fat from different parts of the body, typically from the abdomen, buttock and thighs. Rhinoplasty is to reshape the nose and otoplasty is to reshape the ear; mostly to bring them closer to the head. Chin augmentation is to reshape the chin using implants and cheek augmentation to reshape the cheekbones using implants (Types). There are many different types of surgeries you can have done, but it’s not only minimal to surgeries. This…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Cosmetic fairy tales in the U.S. are spreading through the minds of a nation. The magazines and TV are show pictures of celebrities with perfect bodies, perfect hair, and perfect appearance; that is the main idea of society nowadays. Those kinds of message people are getting each day from mass media. According to an American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s survey, about 60, 000 of respondents do not like their noses, 30,000 do not like their chins, 6,000 do not like their ears and another 6,000 do not like their eyes (ASPS 1).…

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cosmetic surgery, things like, Botox, breast augmentation, nose jobs, liposuction, and face lifts, might sound good in theory, but in reality the risks of going under the knife far outweigh the rewards. Cosmetic surgery should not be an option to everybody, but only an option in very severe cases.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Perry, Arthur W., Roizen, Michael F. (2007). Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.…

    • 2112 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cosmetic Surgery

    • 1958 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Winkler, Kathleen. Cosmetic Surgery for Teens: Choices and Consequences. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2003. Print.…

    • 1958 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cosmetic Surgery

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages

    A desire among teenagers to undergo cosmetic surgery has been on a rapid rise. This can mostly be contributed to these new reality television shows that now air on a weekly basis that they have become addicted to watching. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) (2010) stated, “More than 219,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on people 13-19 in 2008.” Although some believe administering cosmetic surgery on teenagers is all right, teenagers are too young and not mature enough to foresee the consequences of their actions. Some reasons teenagers seek cosmetic surgery are to find one’s own identity, a beauty enhancement or peer acceptance, the desire or need to fit in. All these reasons along with many others are not good reasons why a teenager should undergo cosmetic surgery. Growing up from childhood to adulthood is a process. After filling one of these needs during their teenage years while physically and mentally underdeveloped, he or she may take the risk of having regrets later on in his or her life.…

    • 1851 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The compulsion to change one's body is often a symptom of a mental instability. It should be treated as a problem, not by surgery. Research indicating that breast augmentation patients are four times more likely to commit suicide compared to other plastic surgery patients raises questions about the mental health of women who choose implants. There are also studies that show negative psychological effects on patients after their surgery has been completed. For example, a recent analysis 37 studies on patients' psychological and psychosocial functions before and after cosmetic surgery .They found several predictors of poor outcomes, especially for those who hold unrealistic expectations or have a history of depression and anxiety. The researchers found that patients who are dissatisfied with surgery may request repeat procedures or experience depression and adjustment problems, social isolation, family problems, self-destructive behaviors and anger towards the surgeon and his or her staff.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many of the side effects of cosmetic surgery , it is possible for any type of surgery. The changes in body chemistry, negative reactions to anesthesia, pain and infection are examples of possible side effects of surgery. The cosmetic surgery , however, carries certain risks that are not typical of other surgical procedures, such as changes in appearance and mental health problems.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Plastic surgery, like all types of surgeries, can bring negative consequences on the patient’s health. The medical risks that might be caused by cosmetic surgeries include nerve damage, excessive bleeding, scarring, cancer and even death. To be specific, nerves may be damaged during any surgical procedure. When those nerves are injured, the results will either be muscle paralysis or the inability to perform certain actions like facial expressions and others. Furthermore, the chemical materials used in plastic surgeries cause, in many cases, serious infections in the internal organs. The spread of these infections in the whole body can certainly cause death after a short period of time. People should take in consideration this fact seriously. Therefore, if muscle paralysis and death are some of the consequences of plastic surgeries, then these kinds of surgeries can’t be considered the perfect solution to reach outer beauty. For that reason, unnecessary plastic surgeries should be banned, as they inflict negative impacts on the patient’s health.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays