People get cosmetic surgery for many reasons. Some want to look younger. Others seek to change a feature they’ve never liked.
The decision is personal. One of the keys is to set realistic expectations.
Cosmetic surgery won’t change your life. It won’t solve personal problems or make you look like someone else. But it may give you greater self-confidence and add to your sense of well-being.
Successful results often depend, in part, on how well you and your surgeon communicate. Make sure you feel comfortable with your surgeon and that you are open with them about your goals and questions.
Why Do You Want Cosmetic Surgery?
Many people have good reasons for seeking cosmetic surgery. They’ve thought it over carefully, are in good health, have good self-esteem, understand the risks of the procedure they’re considering, and are doing it for themselves.
Other people, however, are doing it to try to please someone else — often their spouse or partner — and their hopes go way beyond what the procedure can do.
Ask yourself:
- What is your motivation? Are you doing it for someone else, or for yourself?
- What do you want to change and why?
- How long have you wanted to do this?
- What are your expectations?
Does your surgeon agree that your goals are reasonable?
Knowing why you want cosmetic surgery and whether you’re likely to get the results you want will help you decide whether to get the procedure or to reconsider your options.
There are many cosmetic surgery options to improve or change your face and body. When you talk to your surgeon, be open about what you want, but be willing to listen to their recommendations. Your surgeon may recommend a different procedure to achieve a similar result.
Often a less invasive or more isolated procedure will do almost as well as a more involved surgery. And in some cases, your doctor may recommend one of a number of skin care products or non-surgical cosmetic procedures to treat your problem. Below is a summary of some of the newer options available.
Isolated Cosmetic Surgeries
For people with less facial aging, a neck lift, forehead lift, mid-face lift, eyelid surgery, or chin surgery can minimize the effects of aging and offer a fresher, more youthful look.
Cosmetic procedures to improve the body’s appearance include liposuction, breast enlargement or reduction, and abdominoplasty (also known as a tummy tuck).
Minimally Invasive Cosmetic Surgery
For many surgical procedures, including cosmetic surgery, the method of choice has shifted from traditional open surgery to the use of less invasive techniques. Minimally invasive surgery is surgery done with the aid of a viewing scope and specially designed surgical instruments. The scope allows the surgeon to perform major surgery through several tiny openings without the need for a large incision.
These minimally invasive alternatives usually result in less pain, less scarring, and a quicker recovery for the patient, as well as reduced health care costs. Most surgeries — from heart operations to vasectomies — are now being done with minimally invasive methods. In fact, operations and therapeutic procedures performed through smaller incisions are becoming standard in surgical medicine.
In cosmetic surgery, minimally invasive procedures use newer technologies, such as a laser, to perform procedures that once required extensive surgery and recovery time. Today’s plastic and cosmetic surgeons have available a variety of tools and techniques that make procedures such as facelifts and eye lifts more accessible and affordable.
In fact, most cosmetic procedures are performed on an outpatient basis in fully equipped operating rooms under either local or general anesthesia.
Recovery times vary depending upon the procedure, but generally the healing period is between one and two weeks for facial cosmetic surgery. In fact, most patients resume their normal activities within two weeks following surgery.
Using Skin Care Products and Non-Surgical Procedures
Troubled by fine lines and wrinkles, sun damage, or unwanted facial or body hair? If so, a number of skin care products and non-surgical cosmetic procedures — many of which can be performed during a lunch hour –may help.
Correct the sun-damage of aging. There are a variety of physician recommended skin care products available. These products are effective for correcting aging skin, sun-damaged skin, uneven pigmentation and acne, while offering superior skin rejuvenation capabilities. Products such as Retin-A can help reverse some of the effects of sun damage, and ingredients such as vitamin C minimize the adverse effects of oxygen radicals on the skin. Such skin care products have been scientifically shown to have a beneficial effect on aging skin.
Rejuvenate tired skin. Chemical peels, microneedling, micropens, and microdermabrasion offer state-of-the-art renewal of skin that is tired, dull-looking, or damaged. Patients emerge with smoother, softer and healthier-looking skin. Laser rejuvenation, intense pulsed light, radiofrequency, electrical, heat and low-level light devices are other techniques that can be used to refresh skin and correct some of the signs of aging.
Lift sagging skin. Thread lifts are in-office procedures that are done to lift sagging skin.
Remove unwanted hair. Laser treatments remove hair more quickly, less painfully, and more reliably than even electrolysis.
Remove unwanted fat. Heating, cooling, lasers, radiofrequency and ultrasound devices are used to non-invasively remove fat.
The Initial Cosmetic Surgery Consultation
At the initial consultation for cosmetic surgery, your doctor will perform a detailed history, a physical exam, and a detailed analysis of the patient’s area of concern. Photography and computer imaging may be performed and the results are shared with the patient to give them a clear picture of the planned changes.
Make sure you have a full discussion with your surgeon about the risks and complications before you undergo any cosmetic surgery or procedure.
