The Problems Related to Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

This paper will explore the problems associated with cosmetic plastic surgery. While plastic surgery is focused on repairing disfigurements in order reconstruct a normal function and appearance, cosmetic surgery is uniquely intended to enhance the patient’s appearance. There are numerous complications that can accompany any surgery, but plastics opens up a new host of health and ethical issues. Plastic surgery is a necessary intervention that physicians must occasionally perform in order to improve the quality of life for patients.

Reconstructive plastic surgery is constantly at the front line of medical advancement and research; as a direct result, there seems to be endless new technologies and breakthroughs in the field of plastics. For example, in 1999 the plastic surgery team at Louisville helped perform the first hand transplant, which achieved substantial tissue survival, on 38-year-old Matthew Scott, who lost his hand to a firecracker. In December 2008, American surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow, of the Cleveland Clinic, led a team of six plastic surgeons in executing the first facial allotransplant on Isabelle Dinoire, a single mother. Dinoire, in her failed suicide attempt, was mutilated by her Labrador retriever, allegedly trying to wake her up. As illustrated by these examples and countless others, plastic surgeons are often pioneers in innovative surgical discoveries. These instances highlight just a few of the essential roles that physicians must perform as plastic surgeons. In many cases such surgeries are vital to allow patients to live normal lives, free of pain and disfigurement.

With such groundbreaking practices comes numerous ethical dilemmas exclusive to the field of plastics. For instance, surgeons are often challenged with the ethical dilemma of whether to operate on patients for aesthetic reasons alone. This example is quite common, as there are a number of people looking to accentuate what is generally considered “normal” rather than to focus on the original intent of reconstructive plastic surgery-restructuring the body after injury/disease related impairments and disfigurements. Other ethical issues relate to performing surgery on patients without their full informed-consent. Patients may have unrealistic expectations that may be taken advantage of or misunderstood by medical professionals (especially given the rate of expansion in research and development). Public deception, such as exaggerated advertisements and unrealistic media messages, result in a significant portion of the other ethical issues in the field of plastic surgery. These problems can have severe, life-altering, and sometimes fatal consequences. Social media platforms falsely depict some surgical outcomes by exaggerating ideals of body image, insisting upon an unattainable result, and heightening individual potential by displaying digitally altered pictures in offices. These cases prove to be ethical problems that lead to patients having unrealistic and unhealthy goals. Perhaps the leading fear of the typical plastic surgery patient is poor cosmetic outcome. This equates to an outcome that not only fails to enhance appearance, but actually makes one's appearance worse than before the operation.

According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, the end goal for all human beings is eudemonia or happiness. In this theory, it was vital that you were a functioning participant of society to have the opportunity to be virtuous. Deprived of the influence of peers and work, an individual gets no opportunity at being virtuous. Aristotle continues famously by claiming that “without citizenship to a state which creates framework for its people to act in a virtuous manner, one cannot be virtuous, and therefore will not be able to attain eudemonia.” Beauty is a societal construct that affects the way people are perceived by the world. Beauty standards range in their effect and include topics such as: consideration about what to wear to an event, evaluation of what to wear on a routine basis, contemplation on outfits for specific jobs, etc. For example, most would claim that an individual meeting the qualifications for a job is qualified for that position despite the clothes he or she is wearing, but this is not actually the way our society functions. We have considered it essential to don professional attire when going to job interviews and attending professional events. Another example of beauty standards affecting a person’s life, when a person comits to getting cosmetic surgery to improve his or her personal beauty. The standards with beauty in society have become so significant that individuals will often question whether or not getting cosmetic surgery is something they will eventually do. Most individuals will at least contemplate how their bodies could improve aesthetically, including both by way of exercise and even surgically. There are specific features which are frequently considered unattractive by society. Society can be exceptionally cruel to people with large crooked noses, small breasts, and/or thin lips. These features have the ability to make someone feel insecure and potentially contribute to the person being unsuccessful in life.

While a vast majority of society views cosmetic surgery as complicated and invasive, not all procedures are like breast augmentation and rhinoplasty. It is imperative for people to be educated about other less invasive cosmetic surgeries so it can be generally deemed as acceptable and destigmatized. A harmless syringe of an FDA approved absorbable dermal filler for a woman with paper thin lips is not categorized the same as breast augmentation surgery; however, both procedures are cosmetic in nature and serve the same purposes. It is both inappropriate and invalid to judge people negatively for getting surgical procedures that alter appearance because it is likely that those procedures resulted in an overall improvement to their self-esteem and sense of self. Even if the outcome was not exactly favorable for a given person, it is even more harmful to the person’s self-esteem to target that insecurity. Self-esteem is immensely linked to the success of a person, in all aspects of life. In some instances, without the help of cosmetic surgery, these individuals may feel they are at a great disadvantage, and unsatisfactory. It is likely that Aristotle would approve of going under the knife in these scenarios. Aristotle placed great emphasis on remaining within the mean, or not straying too far from societal norms and beliefs. There are always stories in the media of women getting plastic surgery to look like Barbie, or men getting plastic surgery to look like Superman. This would render the person no longer themselves, and would obviously an excess.

In this day and age, cosmetic surgery has grown progressively popular worldwide, resulting in its success as a lucrative business now known as the “cosmetic surgery industry.” Cosmetic surgery, or any surgical or medical modification done by persons with no formal training, illustrates an intensely disputed life-threatening problem. Cosmetic operations routinely performed by trained plastic surgeons are entirely acceptable, but today it is not uncommon for other medical professionals to do these procedures. The lack of education and technical skills in providers is often considered an infringement of the ethical principle of “nonmaleficence.” This principal forbids actions that contradict with the interests of the patient, and patients with unrealistic expectations would therefore inadvertently have ethical issues from the start. In pursuance of the fulfillment of this principle, the patient’s hopes should be within reason, the provider should take into consideration the pros and cons for the patient, take into consideration the health status of the patient, and consider the resources used, including equipment and appropriately qualified medical personnel necessary for such procedures

Despite the cosmetic motivations of some individuals going under the knife, there are a multitude of other patients whose motivations behind plastic surgery are reconstructive. Plastic surgery has long been focused on repairing defects in order to restore a normal function and appearance. According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, “Plastic surgery is defined as a surgical specialty dedicated to reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth disorders, trauma, burns, and disease. It is intended to correct dysfunctional areas of the body and is reconstructive in nature.” When plastic surgeons must operate to restore functional impairments resulting from accidents, diseases, trauma and congenital defects, there is almost always a lower chance for ethical problems to arise when compared to aesthetic surgeries. The patient has less skewed expectations and there are less opportunities for maleficence. Mitch Hunter was just 21 when a car he was in smashed into a 10,000-volt electrical pylon 18 years ago. He pushed the female passenger next to him out of harm's way. As he did, a near-lethal force of electricity surged up his foot, through his body, and out of his face. Within five minutes Hunter’s entire life change as he was nearly unrecognizable. He suffered severe facial deformities that left him unable to speak, eat, or even kiss his loved ones. Despite undergoing over twenty initial corrective operations-grafting skin from his legs, arms and back-children would still scream at the sight of him in the street. Hunter received a face transplant and only then did his life truly start to change. He was able to express emotion through his face and comfortably live life on a day to day basis. Plastic surgeons allowed Hunter to look at his son without fearing that his little boy would be afraid of his disfigured face. Without the emotional and physical trauma, Hunter could regain the basic rights and freedoms a lot of people take advantage of today.

It is undeniable that plastic surgeons play a tremendously important role in society. Trained professionals like them are not only key in the reestablishment or modification of an injured person’s physical functionality, but also in his or her overall emotional and mental well-being. Without modern advances in the field of plastics, and the ethical dilemmas society has been able to overcome, people like Mitch Hunter would never be able to be comfortable in their own bodies. It is important to note that plastic surgeons cannot always change the way you see yourself, but that they always change the way the world sees you. With this that in mind, is imperative to be accepting of your own self and the way you were created before looking to surgery.