You are at: Good Tips → Cosmetic Surgery Tips →Cosmetic Surgery Tips

Risks and Benefits of Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

Your pre-baby face and body seems like a distant dream. Or you were born with a chin and cheeks only a mother could love...since you inherited them from her. You want to have cosmetic plastic surgery, body sculpting plastic surgery, facial plastic surgery, celebrity plastic surgery...the whole works! But should you go crazy or just select a few procedures, e.g. tummy tuck, thigh lift, microdermabrasion, etc? Should you have plastic surgery at all? Some of the benefits include:

The obvious glaring cosmetic surgery risk is that it won't work, that you'll be left with the same "you." (Maybe that's a sign!) Other risks include:

Plastic surgeons and experts say that the benefits of cosmetic plastic surgery outweigh the risks. And remember, some people actually brag about their plastic surgeries, such as Joan Rivers ("I voted for 'Nip/Tuck' before it was even a show!") Now that takes confidence--the kind of moxie plastic surgery can bring.

Celebrity Plastic Surgery: Real or Fake?

Before you run to a plastic surgery center after reading the latest issue of GQ, Men's Health, Cosmo or Vogue, realize some basic truths about celebrity plastic surgery:

  1. Celebrities have millions of dollars and thousands of perks when they opt for cosmetic surgery--they can recover thanks to five-star spa care.
  2. Celebrity plastic surgery can go horribly wrong, and not just for Michael Jackson. Every other week, there are stories in the NATIONAL ENQUIRER, PEOPLE and on E! about celebrity plastic surgery disasters.
  3. Sometimes those looks are courtesy of photo retouching or photo manipulation. Very often the body on the cover of VANITY FAIR doesn't match the celebrity face.
  4. Celebrities don't look like stars all the time--again, witness the ENQUIRER with its pictures of celebrities sans makeup.

Hollywood sells the dream, and if you have a dream of owning Angelina Jolie's lips or Schwarzenegger's bod, remember that even the former Mr. Universe has reportedly been pumped up with cosmetic plastic surgery--but he also put himself through a fitness regime. When you opt for a celebrtiy plastic surgery procedure or choose a "surgeon to the stars," make sure you're in shape like Angelina, sans personal trainer and Beverly Hills gym, and that your face is a good "fit" for that massive kisser.

Before you start doing liposuction, hit the gym and change your personal routine so the change will last longer than most modern Hollywood marriages or careers. After all, as another celebrity quips, "Beauty fades, dumb is forever."

Celebrity Plastic Surgeons

"No, really," says the famous cosmetic plastic surgery expert on the talk-show circuit, "I enjoy working on ordinary people." You know you're in for twenty minutes of name-dropping. Many doctors who perform celebrity plastic surgery have photo testimonials from their famous clients in their clinic (though you should "Beat It" if one is from Michael Jackson). Testmonials are the only way you can see results for yourself--just be sure that the celebrities are ones whose looks you admire.

If you want to find out if the surgeon you're considering has performed plastic surgery on your favorite luminary, be warned: There is such a thing as patient confidentiality still. Many facial plastic surgery experts distance themselves from celebrity, to avoid compromising patient care. You may be stonewalled if you pry. Also, plastic surgeons may be concerned that you're starstruck and not objective. You can try showing the surgeon a photo of the particular celebrity.

If the surgeon recommends against changing your chin to look like Candice Bergen's, don't just dismiss the advice--even if the surgeon just happens to have a photo testimonial from Candice Bergen. But if you see your surgeon on the celebrity talk-show circuit, think twice about your choice. If the surgeon cares about you, your concerns and your health, that's real star power.

Reconstructive Cosmetic Surgery

You never thought you'd be caught in a fire, or have scarring from a car accident. While you recover, you consider your options to rebuild your life. One of the bright sides of trauma or injury, other than that you're alive of course, is that no one can question your decision to have cosmetic plastic surgery. If you have burns, you'll probably have skin graft plastic surgery. If your nose is broken, rhinoplasty is essential both for your appearance and, more importantly, your breathing. If you have scarring, laser resurfacing and dermabrasion are ideal.

Many times the reconstructive cosmetic plastic surgery or facial plastic surgery will be done in the hospital where you're recovering. Sometimes surgeons will perform cosmetic surgery on an outpatient basis. It depends on the injury and on the surgeon. If you're considering an outpatient cosmetic surgery center, ask to see before and after pictures of reconstructive body and facial plastic surgery.

Listen to your primary attending physician, and follow the recommendations. Your body has been through trauma--give yourself a chance to recover emotionally and physically. On the other hand, if reconstructive plastic surgery will speed your emotional and physical wellness, go for it. Be sure not to make major decisions about your appearance if you haven't dealt with the emotional fallout from the accident. Also, make sure your insurance covers reconstructive surgery before your proceed--some insurance providers don't pay for plastic surgery under any circumstances. Many surgeons offer alternate financing. You had an accident or a tragedy. Take care of yourself--you fully deserve it.

Teenage Cosmetic Surgery

Your parents totally won't let you get breast implants or liposuction. You feel fat and flat-chested. Meanwhile, one of your friends got a nose job for graduation. As it turns out, some plastic surgeons think certain types of facial plastic surgery are good for you, such as:

Other plastic surgeons recommend against some types of comsetic plastic surgery, such as:

You're a mature sixteen, but the idea of leaks and complications makes you ill. You think though that facial plastic surgery sounds good. Now all you have to do is convince a plastic surgeon. As hard as this is to believe, you can actually benefit from bringing your parents to the cosmetic plastic surgery center. You can convince the plastic surgeon that, no, you're not influenced by the latest celebrity plastic surgery and that you genuinely think the procedure will help your health and welfare.

Be warned though: Most states require parental consent to cosmetic surgery if you're under 18, and many surgeons will scrutinize teen patients. Ask your friends and friends' parents, such as your pal who got the makeover graduation gift, about plastic surgery results. If your pal is happy with her looks and if she's responsible (student body president and the most organized kid you know), and if her parents keep it real, you have allies. One final word: If you're doing it to attract that guy who doesn't notice you, forget about cosmetic surgery. In fact, forget him and focus on your own life--your friends, your killer serve, your college admissions, that you're an awesome musician. Then find a guy who appreciates you just the way you are.

Step Into My Office, Please

Walk into a plastic surgery center and you might feel as though you've stepped into a psychiatrist's office by mistake. Everyone from the receptionist to the nurse to the surgeon quizzes you about why you want plastic surgery. If your answer is "to feel better about myself," you may get a "thanks, but no thanks," or at least, more questions.

Some surgeons may give you the "beauty is from within" lecture as you glance at the before-and-after photos of celebrity plastic surgery. Hypocritical? Not really. If you've seen "Nip/Tuck," "The Swan," or "Dr. 90210," you know that we often have neuroses that the best plastic surgeon can't cure--and in several cases, some doctors would have done well to say "no" to cosmetic surgery. It's as plain as the nose that's not on Michael Jackson's face. We're not telling you to give up on cosmetic plastic surgery. Just ask yourself some questions before you go:

Remember that your plastic surgery professional isn't God (even though some in the profession mistakenly make themselves out to be) or a licensed psychologist. He or she is a doctor trying to act in your best interest. You need to do that too before you even start looking at cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. Ask yourself all the questions your plastic surgeon will, and if you still feel positive about cosmetic surgery, go for it.

Those Eyes, Those Lips

It's not enough to dress like celebrities. In our media-saturated culture, we want to steal their body parts. An ABC News report revealed the most coveted celebrity assets:

While a celebrity surgeon says having cosmetic surgery to achieve Nicole Kidman's nose is realistic, the report also cautions that the celebrities themselves weren't born with those body parts. In other words, you may not know what they started with. You can check the before and after celebrity plastic surgery photos on the Internet, since celebrities don't talk about their cosmetic plastic surgery: "No really, I owe this all to Kabbalah." (Sorry, Madonna, we don't think so.) You don't want Nicole Kidman's nose to be so glaringly obvious on your face that you start twitching it uncomfortably.

Equally important, you don't want people saying, "Did your plastic surgeon give you Nicole Kidman's nose?" Although people may have those did-you-or-didn't-you suspicions, you don't want plastic surgery to be too obvious. Let them think that it really is the yoga or Kabbalah as well as the Desperate Housewives makeup.

good-tip.net | © 2006