11 myths about plastic surgery

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It is high time to leave the horror stories from the 90s and 2000s behind.

1. For those who go to surgery, the problem is not in the body, but in the head

Most likely, this myth arose from the observation of changes in Michael Jackson or similar cases - they are really beyond reason. Yes, there is a pathological dissatisfaction with one's own body - dysmorphophobia.

But for most, moderate - and most often only - intervention is enough to be happy. However, patients who come to see me sometimes refuse surgery altogether just because I sincerely inform them: “Your result“before”is someone’s dream“after””.

However, there are also patients with the consequences of trauma, survivors of difficult childbirth, accidents, with burn scars, congenital or acquired asymmetries. To condemn their decision to have plastic surgery in order to live a full life is like advising a hearing impaired person to “accept themselves” rather than buying a hearing aid.

2. Plastic surgery - only for women

Not only. Of course, women do much more operations, but gender stereotypes are gradually blurring, and men also use the services of plastic surgeons more and more often. Among them are public figures and those who harmonize their appearance “for themselves”.

Statistics from ISAPS - the International Society for Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery - show, for example, that in 2017, men underwent liposuction 237,201 times, and in 2020 - 246,672 times. The total number of surgical and non-surgical procedures for the correction of appearance, which men decided on, increased by 89,000 in 2 years.

Men undergo operations for gynecomastia, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, facelifts, and cosmetic procedures. They just talk less about it.

3. After the plastics, everyone is on the same face

Looking at some of the stars, bloggers and other celebrities, it is easy to confuse them with each other. However, it is not aesthetic surgery and cosmetology as such that makes people the same, but unhealthy beauty standards hailing from Hollywood. What a brief, so creative.

An adequate plastic surgeon will not churn out the same faces and figures for every second woman who comes with a photo of Jolie. Instead, the specialist will offer options that will make the appearance more harmonious, but will not erase the individuality.

For example, if a girl asks to make her a thin "doll" nose, like some singer, which will disturb the proportions of her face with large features, the surgeon should ideally make every effort to persuade her to make more appropriate changes. For this, computer modeling can be used: in a special program, the patient can "try on" a new nose or a new breast and make an informed decision.

Even advertising and fashion magazines are gradually moving towards the understanding that beauty is diversity and, above all, health. Look for a doctor who shares this opinion.

4. Artificial breasts look and feel different from natural

If the Thumbelina inserts round implants the size of soccer balls, it will raise suspicion. Both by sight and by touch. But an adequate plastic surgeon selects implants for the proportions and shapes of a person. If necessary, different for the left and right breasts - if by nature a woman has a noticeable asymmetry of the mammary glands. And in general, the trend turned 180 degrees: from "I have at least a C" to "I am as natural and imperceptible as possible."

The implants themselves, by the way, also do not feel like a bag with a liquid inside. Earlier, in the 70s-80s of the XX century, they were made of thin, smooth silicone and filled with liquid silicone gel or just a water-salt solution. Such implants wore out quickly, could move from the right place, and even sometimes gurgled when walking.

Modern options are already the fifth generation. Their shell consists of several durable and elastic polymer layers that prevent the contents from seeping and withstand loads of up to 500 kg. They are filled with a gel of a special consistency that makes them indistinguishable from breast tissue by touch. The rehabilitation period passes - and you do not feel that these are implants.

5. After breast augmentation, active sports are contraindicated

It is necessary to limit physical activity only during the rehabilitation period: you will have to live without marathons for up to six months and not press the barbell - as your doctor says. But after recovery, no active exercises are prohibited - everything is possible that a woman with natural breasts will allow herself.

You just have to choose the right sportswear with the appropriate support (its level is indicated on the label). Choose bras with wide straps, thick deep cups and preferably adjustable closure.

6. First you need to give birth, then do the breast

This is outdated information. If a woman is going to have children in the future, but wants to enlarge her breasts now, modern surgery will find a solution. If pregnancy is planned no earlier than a year after mammoplasty, then this is not contraindicated. Current technologies allow performing the operation practically without injuring the gland, and in the overwhelming majority of cases, lactation is not disturbed.

The diagram below shows that the implant can be placed directly under the breast or under the pectoral muscle. For girls planning to give birth, the first option is usually not used, so the glandular tissue and milk ducts are not affected.

The materials from which modern implants are made also exclude toxic, allergic or any other effects on the child's health. This was confirmed by specially conducted studies.

7. Plastic surgery to correct the figure - for the lazy

Those who are on healthy lifestyles, sports and PP can be proud of themselves. But this path is not for everyone. And not because one is a hero and the other is a weakling.

If you only knew how often women come to me in despair: “Salome Nikolaevna, plastic is my last hope. I've tried everything, but the stomach / hips / sides / knees don't lose weight! And they are not lying. They eat right, go to the pool, work out with a trainer, and spend their weekends off the couch.

But with the birth of children, and simply with age, under the influence of hormones, the figure can change significantly. Extra volumes appear in the abdomen, sides, inner and outer sides of the thighs ("breeches") - fat is deposited in "fat traps" even with a healthy weight. What to do? Reducing below normal body fat by fasting? And someone, on the contrary, in their physiology will never pump up a round insta-ass of a dream.

And if all these people become happy with adequate plastic surgery, why not correct the natural injustice.

8. Implants cause cancer

In 2019, news broke that an FDA study found cases of a rare malignant tumor - large cell lymphoma (a cancer that affects cells of the immune system) - in patients with implants.

However, only 573 cases were recorded, while the number of women with breast implants reaches from 5 to 10 million. These are hundredths of a percent of the likelihood of a tumor. Postoperative complications are even more frequent.

Of course, even about this minimal level of risk, I warn patients. Before the operation, they must be examined, and after that, regular examinations by the surgeon and mammologist are strongly recommended.

9. The implant can burst, with dire consequences

First, it can withstand pressures of up to 500 kg. After the rehabilitation period, you can safely go in for sports, dive with scuba diving, go to the sauna and fly on an airplane: the implants neither in the chest nor in the buttocks will not burst or melt.

However, over time, on average after 7–15 years, the shell of materials does wear out, which can lead to its damage. Then it is required to perform corrective surgery and replace the implant. But even if damaged, its contents will not leak out and harm you.

Such scary stories are associated with past generations of implants. Modern ones are filled with a dense and viscous gel that retains its shape even without a shell.

10. After the operation, scars will remain for life

Some types of interventions can be performed without external incisions at all - for example, closed rhinoplasty. Sometimes minimally invasive endoscopic techniques can be used. In other cases, the surgeon makes an incision in the most inconspicuous places: behind the ears, in the armpit, at the very bottom of the abdomen.

In addition, with proper care after the operation, the use of special plasters and ointments, the scar becomes very thin, loses color and after a year it will look almost imperceptible - like a stretch on the skin as thick as a thread. And if the scar is located around the areola, you will hardly notice it at all after 6 months.

It is worth noting that it is extremely rare - due to the characteristics of the body or violation of the rules of rehabilitation - a scar can become hypertrophied. Hardware cosmetology helps with this, or, in extreme cases, an additional operation is prescribed under local anesthesia to excise the scar.

11. After a facelift, the face will sag even more, so you will have to operate all your life

Probably, the emergence of this myth was also influenced by examples of unsuccessful operations of stars in the mid-2000s, when Vera Alentova or Mickey Rourke were forced to resort to new interventions in the hope of correcting previous failures of surgeons. But these are rather exceptions.

Anti-aging plastic does not impair the elasticity of the skin and does not cause "addiction" in the body. In this case, lifting or blepharoplasty can make the patient visually 10–15 years younger. Perhaps some people are so impressed that they cannot afford to return to wrinkles over time and therefore go for new surgeries? But, of course, you don't need to do braces regularly. This is just a way to prolong youth, and not turn back time.

If you really need to change something in your body to become happier, modern plastic surgery offers many effective solutions. And over time, they become safer, more technological and natural.

However, before deciding on radical steps, be sure to consult with a trusted doctor, ask the opinions of different specialists, weigh all the risks. And always remember: real beauty is not according to changing fashion standards, but in your personality. We are all special!