“She got her good looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon. ” Groucho Marx. “I definitely believe in plastic surgery. I don’t want to be an old hag. There’s no fun in that. ” Scarlett Johansson. “I wish I had a twin, so I could know what I’d look like without plastic surgery. ” Joan Rivers. These are quotes from famous people about cosmetic surgery. Some have had cosmetic surgery and some have not. This essay will look into the aspects of having cosmetic surgery and why people chose to have cosmetic surgery. What makes people want to have cosmetic surgery?
I have found a few different reasons as to why men and women may feel the need for cosmetic surgery. The main reason people have cosmetic surgery done is to boost their confidence. They do not feel happy about themselves and they feel that having a surgery done will help them feel better about their appearance and how others perceive them. Other reasons may include having things fixed that exercise and diet cannot help with, different medical reasons or because they may be addicted to having cosmetic surgery done. This paper will address these thoughts and issues.
In 2008, over 12 million cosmetic surgeries were preformed. Over the years, cosmetic surgery has become very popular in today’s society. The increase in numbers of cosmetic surgeries could be attributed and/or directly in proportion to the increase in extreme makeover shows, such as, “Extreme Makeover”, “Swan”, and “Nip/Tuck”. In the culture we live in it is very much acceptable for a man or woman to have cosmetic surgery. It can be anything from getting a bump in a person’s nose fixed to completely changing from a man to a woman or a woman to a man.
According to Charles Cooley “a person’s sense of self is derived from the perceptions of others. ” Many people have cosmetic surgery done for personal vanity reasons. This is the number one reason for cosmetic surgery to be done. People feel that by changing a part or parts of their body they will improve their self esteem and make themselves more confident. They also are hopeful that others will perceive them differently. This is not always the case. “Research shows that those who alter their bodies by following diet and exercise regimens are happier and more confident.
” (AritleBase, para. 3) People who have a surgery done to make them feel better often come out of surgery feeling better about themselves for a while. After sometime those feelings often start to fade and they may begin to look for something else to fill that void. “People who are depressed, extremely self-critical, or have a distorted view of what they really look like sometimes think that changing their looks will solve their problems. In these cases, it won’t. Working out the emotional problem with the help of a trained therapist is a better bet.
” (wikianswers) Some of the surgeries that are for personal vanity reasons are breast enlargements, face lifts, tummy tucks, and liposuction. Although these are just a few of the different types of surgeries, they are the ones that are most often had for personal reasons. Many people do have cosmetic surgery for reasons of vanity, but there are some who have cosmetic surgery for medical purposes. Men, women and children all have had cosmetic surgeries done for medical reasons. There are many types of reconstructive surgeries.
These surgeries can correct defects on the face and body. “These include physical birth defects like cleft lips and palates and ear deformities, traumatic injuries like those from dog bites or burns, or the aftermath of disease treatments like rebuilding a woman’s breast after surgery for breast cancer. ” (wikianswers) Breast implants is one of the most common cosmetic surgery procedures, and is considered extremely useful for reconstruction for breast cancer victims. Other surgeries that may be had for medical purposes include breast reduction and fixing dental problems.
These surgeries can also be thought of as vanity surgeries because people do feel better about themselves after having one of these procedures done. But people who have had to live with such things as was mentioned not only improve their self esteem, but also physically feel better. Having breast reduction surgery can help a woman’s back to feel better. The breast, if large, can feel heavy and can cause poor posture. It also pulls on the back muscles and can cause tremendous amounts of pain for women. They feel better after the surgery is completed.
Kelsea Henderson who, over several years, has undergone numerous complex surgeries to her back and chest as a result of a rare cancer. Kelsea had her last reconstructive operations in January 2008, was named Homecoming Queen a few months later, and received a full college scholarship before year’s end. She faced repeated adversity, multiple complex surgeries, and seemingly incurable cancer, and yet has triumphed magnificently and now looks forward to what she humbly calls a “normal life. ” (plasticsurgery. org) Is there such a thing as too much surgery?
Men and women can become addicted to having cosmetic surgery done. After they have one done, they can find something else that they feel needs to be corrected. Or, after having one surgery done, they may feel it was not done correctly and want to fix what they think the problem was. “Some people’s emotions have a really big effect on how they think they look. ” (wikianswers) They have a tendency to rely on their emotions and this can cause them to want to one surgery after another. A lot of times women who have had many surgeries on their face, can often have so many that it may cause them to not look like themselves.
They can also start to look deformed in the face. This continues to cause the cycle that they feel they need to fix the problem. They are hoping to feel better about themselves by trying again to fix the problem. By having this addiction to cosmetic surgery it can begin to cost a lot of money. In the year 2003, 4. 3 million patients undergoing plastic surgery were returning patients. (plasticsurgery. org) Follow-up procedures are a legitimate need. Non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures must be repeated in order to maintain the benefit of the first surgery.
Doctors in cosmetic surgery should help patients make wise decisions that focus on the area of surgery they want done, so that future surgeries will not need to be administered. Cosmetic surgery can be very costly. Medical insurance will pay for some cosmetic surgeries that relate to medical purposes. But if a person is choosing to have a surgery done for elective purposes it is likely to cost a lot of money. In 2009, average surgeon fees for cosmetic surgeries ranged from $1,123 to $963,839,020. (boardcertifiedplasticsurgon) There are financing alternatives that may be available depending on each cosmetic surgeon.
Some may have installment plans arranged to where the patient can directly pay the surgeons office. If the patient’s cosmetic surgeon does not have a finance plans available there are medical finance companies that the patient can contact directly. Better doctors command and receive higher fees. Needless to say if a person is not a wealthy person and he or she are wanting to have an elective cosmetic surgery done, they will need to do lots of research on doctors and prices to find what is the best for them and their pocketbook.
Those who choose to have any cosmetic surgery done needs to do a lot of research to find a certified doctor who has a good reputation. Finding a doctor who will also fit in your budget may not be an easy task. There are many things a person may want to consider, whether it is a doctor with more than six years of surgical training and experience or someone with three to five years specifically in the field of cosmetic surgery that you would like to have done, or someone who may be more cost efficient for that person. Cosmetic surgery is not for everyone.
A person needs to be emotionally sound and know without any doubts that this is what they want done. Dr. Phil says “Remember that in the history of the entire world, there has never been another you. And there never will be. God made you uniquely you. And for you to reject that and say ‘I’m not good enough for me’ is not OK. If you want to get cosmetic surgery, get real with yourself first. Get in touch with your authentic self so that you know who you truly are and what you truly want. ” We all have insecurities about our bodies.
Whether it’s our stomachs, our thighs, or our noses, there will always be something about ourselves that we are not happy with. Cosmetic surgery may not be for everyone. If you decide to have any surgery done, be prepared for the outcome that will be. Whether, it is good or bad. References ArticleBase, Why Do People have Plastic Surgery? June, 2009 www. articlesbase. com/plastic-surgeries-articles/why-do-people-have-plastic-surgery-979846. html Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, 2009 www. boardcertifiedplasticsurgeon. com/cosmetic_surgery_costs. html Dr. Phil www. drphil. com/articles/article/121.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2010 www. plasticsurgery. org Peer Review Checklist* What is the main point of this essay? | This essay addresses the various reasons have cosmetic surgery. | What is the greatest strength of this essay? | The greatest strength of this essay is the information it provides about the extraordinary cost of cosmetic surgery. | Does the introduction grab your interest and make you want to read on? Explain your answer. | No. I find quoatations from “famous” people to not be very reliable and find it difficult to take the essay seriously at times.
A better approach may be to use famous quotations from leading medical authorities. | What material does not seem to fit the main point of the essay or does not seem to be appropriate for the audience? | The information about dental cosmetics didn’t seem to fit appropriately into this essay. Maybe more elaboration about elective cosmetic surgery would have helped the audience bring the essay together. | Where should the author add more details or examples? Explain your answer. | More information about the dental aspect would have been more appropriate.
Since it was only mentioned briefly, it made the information seem out of place. | Where is the writing unclear or vague? | The writing about cosmetic surgery for medical reasons seemed vague to me. I feel that more information about specific medical cosmetic surgeries would have helped to make the reasons for having these surgeries more clear. | What is your favorite part of this piece of writing? | I particularly liked the information provided about the emotional and psychological aspects to cosmetic surgery.
I enjoyed reading about how people feel that having repeated surgeries and drastically changing their appearance will “fix” their emotional problems, only to find that the opposite is true. | What other comments might you provide for the author? | I think that using Wikipedia as a source for information was not appropriate. Wikipedia is well known for not being credible due to the fact that anyone can add their opinion to the site. I feel that using more credible sources would have made the essay more reliable and not have left me asking the question, “How much of this can I really believe? ”