Plastic Surgery On Society Health And Social Care Essay

The advancements in technology in medical science have opened the doors to better treatment possibilities with minimal side effects being witnessed post treatment. People are now able to avail treatments for such complications which require highly complex and minute procedures to be performed where the implications of the existence of errors are highly fatal. With the inclusion of robotic technology and advanced medical equipment infrastructure, procedures have now become highly convenient and accessible to the people and this feasibility has also enabled the healthcare professionals to provide better medical service to the consumers (Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008).

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The development of plastic surgery that has been witnessed over the recent years has given rise to various opportunities wherein the use of medical technologies are being used to enhance personal physical features rather than seeing the medical procedures as a means of treatment of illnesses. Among these procedures, plastic surgery is the most widely sought feature modification and enhancement methods which have enabled further developments in the medical field. Plastic surgery had originated as a means to provide reconstructive measures for the damaged parts of the physical parts of the body. These parts can get damaged or injured due to accidents or various other stimuli. Plastic surgery aims at reconstructing and / or modifying the appearance as well as the function of the respective limb (Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008).

Plastic surgery is divided into two parts, cosmetic plastic surgery and reconstructive plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery seeks to improve the patient’s features on a purely beauty level. Reconstructive surgery seeks to fix any physical feature, which is deformed by illness, accidents or birth defect or imperfection. It also provides a significant degree of functional enhancement so as to enable the patient to regain most of the actual functionality which existed for the respective part. Traditionally these processes have been used to treat damages and hide the scars arising out of deep wounds or skin damage. Reconstructive surgery is also being considered as a viable option for those who want to enhance one’s mobility and functionality in cases of incidents which render a person partially disable (Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008).

Cosmetic plastic surgery however is one of the most popular medical procedures to be undertaken today with the progress of this procedure being witnessed geographically. This has been further strengthened by the presence of medical tourism possibilities which has enhanced the possibilities for availing the cosmetic treatment in foreign locations. One of the primary reasons which can be attributed to the increase in the utilization of cosmetic surgery procedures is the desire of the people to resemble their favorite celebrities in terms of physical appearance and beauty. People have been known to spend huge amounts of money and have undertaken painful efforts in order to make themselves similar to the celebrities. Though this may seem like a mere fascination and appreciation of the celebrities by the fans, there is a dark side to the continuous utilization of such procedures wherein an obsession is created in the people regarding the frequent utilization of the procedures for maintaining their desired levels of features. Plastic surgery is associated with a wide range of outcomes witnessed mainly on the emotional, psychological and physical levels. All of these levels have positive and negative aspects associated with them (Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008).

However the current trend of becoming competitive in terms of physical features has led to the adverse outcomes being witnessed in cases where the patients have resorted to the use of new untested drugs or in cases when there is a natural adverse reaction to the procedure. In either case, there is a severe impact of these procedures on the social environment wherein various individuals and groups are subjected to the outcomes (Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008).

General Impacts of Lipoplasty:

The growing obese and overweight population in the world today has led people to seek liposuction which is one of most sought cosmetic procedures for reducing the fat content in the body. However this procedure has now diversified into procedures being conducted on specific regions of the body wherein the fat is removed usually by equipment which is used to suction the fat that is previously made into a more liquid state by means of certain chemicals. It is due to this suction of the lipids that the procedure has been popularly termed as liposuction. This procedure is an instant solution to overweight and people are provided significant relief from going to the gym or to undertake strenuous workout schedules. But this procedure is an invasive process involving the surgical intrusion of the equipment into the body and hence like any other surgery, there is a moderately high risk of the occurrence of adverse reactions to the procedure. These risks are inclusive of bad bruising, thrombophlebitis, inflammation, Contour Irregularities, numbness, puncturing of the internal organs, infections, pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism, skin burns, and allergic reactions to the procedures and / or the drugs used, complications in the lungs or the heart, lidocaine toxicity and in some cases, even death. There is a significant lack of awareness about such procedures in the society wherein the people are usually awed by the benefits of the procedure and in their efforts to achieve the desired outcomes they overlook the possible adversities which could be experienced by them if adequate precautions are not undertaken (Sunishka Wimalawansa, 2009).

There is a high level of competitiveness in the society which is characterized by the excessive emphasis being maintained on the looks of a person. The current trends indicate the need for every individual to possess the perfect body and fat free personalities so as to be able to seem acceptable in the social realm. The fear of being made fun of and being pushed away by the society has driven the people, especially the youth and the elderly segment to undertake such measures. While the youth and the elderly faction of the population have differing needs from the liposuction procedure, the outcomes have been reported to be drastic which not only has a long-lasting impact on the emotional realm of the people but it has also driven people to eccentric behavior. The elderly are motivated for adopting this procedure as it helps them to look younger even though their natural capacity and resistance is maintained as per their actual age. Social norms and peer pressure agents dictate the extent to which the people may go to transform and modify their appearance (Sadick, 2008).

The older faction’s need to look young and mask one’s true age has reached paramount importance in people. They try to imitate the celebrities and take efforts to be able to have a youthful personality like them. These instant changes are risks for the people as the celebrities undergo countless procedures involving large expenses made in this regard. As a result of the high demand for these procedures, the medical practitioners have increased overall costs of the procedures which have resulted in the existence of another issue for the society in terms of monetary insufficiency. People have been known to spend huge amounts of valuable money to undertake these procedures which may have a direct impact on the other finances which the people may have. Their obsession with beauty has caused more harm than good when a majority of the income of the members of the society is being diverted to the payment for the plastic surgeries. Another aspect of this situation is that people have been known to acquire loans for obtaining the funds for the treatment procedures. These procedures are not only short lived but in order to maintain the effectiveness of the outcomes, these procedures need to be repeated after specific intervals which not only affects the health of the individual but also incurs huge expenses for the patients (Jávo, 2012)

Emotional and Psychological Impact of Lipoplasty on the Society:

Obesity is a serious social evil where obese people are often made the subject of mockery and are looked down upon in the society. This behavioral response of the people in the society drives the people to undertake such drastic measures to achieve the desired physical features. But in this process, the people establish very high expectations from the procedures with unreal and overly ambitious outcomes being expected from the medical practitioners. In the event of the achievement of fewer outcomes in comparison with the desired outcomes, the people might enter a state of depression which is further complicated by the lack of emotional support being provided to the patients. Another adverse outcome which is evident in such cases is the recurrence of obesity which would affect overall perception of the patient. When faced with this contradiction, the patient either loses all faith in the procedures or is driven to undertake more procedures till the time the desired outcomes are achieved. However the human body has adaptability duration and such drastic and frequent changes in the body might lead to the rejection of the changes and could give way to severe complications that would have a long term impact on the patient (David J Castle, 2007).

Studies have shown that obesity is one such condition which can affect the psychological perspectives of the individual. In the event of the development of complexities and contraindications in the patients, they may also be exhibit bouts of emotional outbursts due to their perceived self image being much more glorious than the actual outcomes. However the psychological aspects of liposuction do not always have a negative outcome. The other aspect of this procedure is that the reduction in body weight and fat have enabled to make themselves more presentable in social circles and this has been one of the major factors for the development of self confidence in the people. In some cases, the effects of liposuction have also provided the individuals with the chance of coping with the dilemma of social identity and presence dilemma. Other plastic surgery procedures have enabled people to mask their scars and other such features such as gynaecomastia which may seen socially unacceptable due to their bizarre features and outlook. In terms of liposuction, gynaecomastia is the major issue concerning the male population as this condition leads to the enlargement of the mammary regions in males which makes them resemble like female breasts. This is not only an awkward feature considering the image of the male in the society but also subjects the patient with social mockery and rejection at times. With the help of liposuction, the people are able to make themselves more presentable to the society and thereby escaping mockery or being made the subject of rejection. This is an example of the benefits of the utilization of plastic surgery procedures on the emotional and psychological aspects of such procedures (David J Castle, 2007).

People globally have generated a belief in the society where the need to have perfect body proportions defines the manner in which the image of a person is perceived in the society. This perception has also infiltrated the confines of the families where husbands have expressed an interest in the physical outlook of their life partners. If the wives are unable to comply with their expectations, then their martial relation is often nullified as the men seek more beautiful counterparts for their wives. Every culture puts forward certain characteristics that are preferred in both men and women and the absence or lack of such features causes depression in the people as they are not seen in a viable position in the society. This also drives them to undertake the surgical procedures in order to overcome their shortcomings. The need for these procedures to be adopted by women is getting attention of their husbands. The positive aspects of this scenario are that they are made capable of meeting the expectations as per social norms and in turn they are able to beget partners with good physical characteristics. They also develop a higher level of confidence which enables better interactions to be maintained in the social realm. The negative aspects of this scenario is that the possible complications arising from such procedures could prove to be fatal for the patient and their determination to comply with social norms would only lead to grave outcomes being faced by them (David J Castle, 2007).

Effectiveness of the Plastic Surgery Procedures:

The effectiveness of the plastic surgery procedures has always been a topic of debate as the evaluation of the outcomes is significantly dependent on the perceptions of the people and the extent to which the surgical procedure is able to stand up to their expectations. There are several factors which may lead to the development of complications or may even worsen the complications that have surfaced in the patients. The majority of the factors pertain to the physical characteristics of the individual and the ability of the person’s immune system to incorporate the drugs that are administered in the process (What Is Liposuction? Liposuction Risks And Benefits, 2012).

The following is a summarization of the factors that contribute to the development of the complications in the patient post operation:

Sl. No.

Factors affecting Surgery

Possible Complications

Factors worsening Complications

1

Age of Patient

Infection at the operation site.

Smoking and / or Consumption of liquor in any form

2

Overall Patient Health

Excessive bleeding.

Damaging of connective tissues.

3

Patient’s Medical History

Bruising of the operated site / region.

Occurrence of skin damage due to provision of radiation therapy.

4

Extent of the abnormality / deformity

Incomplete healing of wound.

Adverse effects of weakened immune system due to the presence of HIV+ in the patient.

5

Expectations of the patients

Surgical complications

Poor nutritional habits.

6

–

Complications based on the type of anesthesia used during the procedure.

Decrease in blood flow post operation which could delay the healing of the operated site and could lead to the incurrence of various infections.

(Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Overview, 2008)

The above mentioned factors determine to some extent the predicted outcome of the surgeries in such conditions. The procedures conducted on the patients are irrevocable and irreversible but this does not mean that the effects of the surgery are also permanent. These changes last for a limited time on the basis of the precautionary measures and the environmental factors affecting the same (What Is Liposuction? Liposuction Risks And Benefits, 2012).

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Procedures such as liposuction have been recently reported to have ineffective outcomes. But the patients do not consider their own personal characteristics or the lack of adequate attention being given to the operated site. In the case of such lack of care, there is a high risk of developing complications. If news of such drastic outcomes are made public then the people are misled either intentionally or unintentionally to deter from using a particular technology. While this may be considered as a positive move being made by the people, the negative aspect associated with this is usually ignored as the people do not feel that the other aspects have a significant impact on their lives. But the mass deterrence to use a particular technology has driven people to undertake such procedures in haste which are not certified by authorized bodies and this subjects them to high risk of damaging themselves and their external looks drastically (What Is Liposuction? Liposuction Risks And Benefits, 2012).

Research Data Analysis:

In order to understand the implications of plastic surgeries, a survey was conducted so as to obtain the opinion of the people regarding the impact of plastic surgery procedures, especially liposuction, on the social realm. (Please refer to Appendix A for a copy of the Survey Prepared for obtaining the views of the people regarding plastic surgery.)

The sample size was maintained at 100 respondents comprising of people from all age groups and ethnicity. No specific population has been identified for the research as the society in general is constituted of people belonging to diverse cultural segments.

Discussion:

On the basis of the answers obtained by the survey designed for this report, it was noted that people generally indulge in plastic surgery nowadays to enhance their features and make themselves more attractive while avoiding the actual functional use of the plastic surgeries. The attainment of a perfect figure was the primary reason stated by the respondents in the context of the need to undertake such surgeries. This is in support of our argument which highlighted this need as the driving factor behind the utilization of these procedures. Mixed responses were obtained from the respondents in the context of the provision of emotional support which clearly indicates the fact there is no facility to provide the require support to the patients by means of which they may be able to overcome their complications or even develop the required confidence to cope with the changes. People have also expressed their hesitation in accepting those members of the society who indulge in surgical procedures for the enhancement of their features. This is clearly a society specific perspective where the views may differ from society to society. A majority of the respondents were unsure of the effectiveness of the surgical procedures and were not sure whether these effects lasted forever or for a specific duration. In this regard it should be noted that the provision of adequate public awareness is quintessential for maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.

Almost 80% of the respondents have agreed to the fact that these procedures have been highly beneficial in the development of self confidence in the people and the people have been enabled to make themselves more presentable to the society. Mixed responses were obtained when the respondents were asked whether people could be driven to obsession and addiction with respect to these procedures. Similar responses were obtained in the case of the risks associated with these procedures which further strengthen the need for public awareness to be made in this regard.

Recommendation:

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the plastic surgery procedure, the following recommendations are made:

Awareness should be generated among the people regarding the risks involved with these procedures and the outcomes / complications which could develop if adequate precautionary measures are not undertaken.

The expectations from the procedure should be maintained realistically with no extraordinary and outlandish aims being defined by the people.

Tested and adequately certified procedures should be sought by the patients in order to minimize the risk of the development of post operative complications.

The patients should evaluate their own personal physical characteristics and the resilience of the immune systems before undertaking any procedure.

The society should be encouraged to accept people in their actual identity without defining strict perspectives based on physical characteristics. This is a form of complete biasness towards the members of the respective society.

Conclusion:

Plastic Surgery is definitely a great tool for rectifying physical deformities and overcoming social negligence due to the presence of these deformities in a person. However the misuse of this boon has resulted in the lives of many people with an equally large population still suffering from the dire consequences of the surgeries. Most of these effects are realized after a significant time has elapsed after the surgery has been conducted. It is quintessential for people to understand the risks associated with these procedures before opting for it. The disillusionment offered by widespread publicity of such procedures by celebrities has endangered the health and lives of many who undergo this life altering procedure just to achieve perfection instantly. A thorough knowledge of such surgeries should be availed to save not only one’s own life and health but also of those who have been influenced into opting for such procedures. Hence the implications of plastic surgery portray a significant negative impact on the people (Holley, 2011)