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Psychologists Confirm Long-Term Positive Effects Of Plastic Surgery

In a long-term study, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Margraf, Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the RUB, investigated the psychological effects of plastic surgery on approximately 550 patients in cooperation with colleagues from the University of Basel. Patients demonstrated more enjoyment of life, satisfaction and self-esteem after their physical appearance had been surgically altered. The results of the world’s largest ever study on this issue are reported by the researchers in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.

The aim of the research
The researchers examined whether patients who undergo plastic surgery are systematically different from other people, what goals they set themselves before the surgery, and whether they achieve these afterwards. The researchers compared 544 first-time surgery patients with two other groups: on the one hand with 264 people who had previously wanted plastic surgery and then decided against it, and on the other hand, with around 1000 people from the general population who have never been interested in such operations. The desire for a better appearance for aesthetic reasons usually occurs in younger people with slightly above-average incomes. Women represent 87 % of all patients who opt for cosmetic surgery. Overall, there were no significant differences among the three groups studied in terms of psychological and health variables, such as mental health, life satisfaction and depressiveness.
Most patients do not expect the impossible from surgery
Using a psychological instrument, the so-called “Goal Attainment Scaling”, the researchers examined what goals the patients wanted to achieve with cosmetic surgery. Alongside open questions, ten standard goals were offered, also including two which were clearly unrealistic: “All my problems will be solved” and “I’ll be a completely new person”. Only 12 % of the respondents specified these unrealistic standard goals. In the open questions, the patients answered on the whole more realistically, expressing wishes such as to “feel better”, “eliminate blemishes” and “develop more self-confidence”.
Long-term improvements in psychological variables after surgery
The psychologists tested the patients before surgery, as well as three, six and twelve months afterwards. On average, the participants claimed to have achieved their desired goal, and to be satisfied with the results in the long-term. Compared to those who had chosen not to have plastic surgery, the patients felt healthier, were less anxious, had developed more self-esteem and found the operated body feature in particular, but also their body as a whole, more attractive. No adverse effects were observed. Thus, the researchers were able to establish a high level for the average treatment success of the cosmetic surgery, also in terms of psychological characteristics.
This News is Brought to You Courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa


 

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New Evidence On What Women Can Expect After Breast Augmentation Surgery

Ninety-eight percent of women undergoing breast augmentation surgery say the results met or exceeded their expectations, according to a prospective outcome study published in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Women also report improvements in self-esteem and quality of life after breast augmentation, according to the study by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Eric Swanson, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Leawood, Kan. The study adds high-quality information regarding expected outcomes after breast augmentation – including recovery time and psychological benefits.
98 Percent of Women Satisfied with Breast Augmentation Results
The survey study evaluated 225 consecutive women who returned for interviews at least one month after breast augmentation over a five-year period. Interviews included questions about the recovery, results, complications and psychological effects.
The average patient was 34 years old, and the majority of women received saline-filled breast implants placed under the muscle. The average implant volume was 390 cc.
On a 10-point scale, the women reported an average pain score during recovery of 5.9. On average, they used prescription pain medication for five days and were off work seven days. Patients felt they were “back to normal” about 25 days after surgery.
Eighty-five percent of women rated their new breast size “just right.” Thirteen percent would have preferred a larger size and less than two percent a smaller size. Only one percent expressed dissatisfaction with their scars, which were usually located in the crease under the breast. Seventy-five percent of women rated their breast firmness “just right.” When asked to rate the result, over half of the patients gave it a perfect 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Almost all patients (98 percent) reported that the results met or exceeded their expectations.
Increased Self-Esteem and Other Psychological Benefits
Nearly 40 percent of the women surveyed experienced at least temporary nipple numbness after surgery. Persistent numbness was reported by only two percent. The complication rate reported by patients was 10 percent. When asked about psychological effects, 92 percent of women reported improved self-esteem after breast augmentation and 64 percent reported an improved quality of life. Before surgery, the majority of women (86 percent) were self-conscious about their breasts. After surgery, only 13 percent were self-conscious about them.
Breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the United States – approximately 286,000 operations were performed in 2012, according to ASPS statistics. The study results provide new information for women considering breast augmentation, particularly in terms of their expectations of the recovery and results. “This study is valuable in providing information from the patient’s perspective, not the surgeon’s,” according to Dr. Swanson. “Patient satisfaction is the most important measure of surgical success.”
This news is brought to you courtest of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragone Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
Dr. Bishara, with offices in Mansfield and Southlake, TX- provides a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help patients look and feel their best. These procedures are designed to improve the appearance of the face and body through minimally invasive techniques that provide highly effective results. Many of these procedures can be combined in order to achieve your desired appearance. Please call our office for more information at (817) 473-2120.
 

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What Age is Too Old for Cosmetic Surgery- by Dr. Mark Bishara, MD

According to an opinion piece published in JAMA Dermatology, when considering the appropriate ages for aesthetic procedures, the question isn’t so much “What age is too young” as it is “What age is too old?”

In that edition’s Viewpoint feature, the authors write that deeply-etched facial lines that develop as patients age “are caused by repeated folding of the skin and include lines of facial expression and sleep lines,” and that in young adulthood these lines predict “the unique pattern of facial wrinkling that will be seen without expression years later.”
Regular treatment with a neuromodulator when patients are in their 20s or 30s will minimize etched facial lines by the time they’re in their 40s and 60s. They cite the case of identical 38-year-old twin sisters. One began regular botulinum toxin (Botox) injections in the forehead and glabella when she was 25, while the other got injections in the same areas just twice over seven years. They write that while lines glabella and forehead lines were visible at rest, they were not visible in the regularly treated twin four months after her last treatment.
“This observation suggests that regular treatment with a neurotoxin, beginning in young adulthood, can prevent the development of etched-in lines. So there really is rarely a time that is too early. Perhaps the better question is, ‘When is it too late?’”
CST Trends asked two doctors to give their opinions on the issue concerning when is “too early” to begin aesthetic treatments.
“I basically agree with the opinions of the authors but also understand the biopsychosocial implications that may be argued by those who disagree,” says Joe Niamtu III, D.M.D., a Richmond, Va., specialist in facial cosmetic surgery. “I can guarantee that you will see some negative feedback on this viewpoint article, with the opposition saying that we are creating a society of ‘plastic’ people who can’t deal with the normal process of aging … I can see both sides of the argument.”
Dr. Niamtu says he thinks the real “take-home point” of the article is that while preventive treatment can influence the future appearance of aging, “treating younger patients has positive and negative benefits that reach beyond the needle. There are clearly some patients that would benefit from treatment at a younger age and others who would suffer body-image issues if they did do it or wanted to do it and could not afford it.
“The other very important piece of this discussion is that we could not discuss this topic 20 years ago, as there were basically no fillers, neuromodulators or light- and energy-based therapies,” he adds. “I think that the current discussion will become lost in time because in another 20 years we may have easier and more effective treatments that are more effective and preventive and may be highly used by younger patients.”
Joel Schlessinger, M.D., a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon in Omaha, Neb., concurs with the viewpoint authors.
“I agree wholeheartedly with the authors,” he says. “Sadly, most people take the opposite viewpoint, waiting until it is too late, as the authors comment, and either missing the opportunity to have a full correction or even any chance to have a significant change. On the other side of the equation, there clearly are individuals with body dysmorphic syndrome, who have no issues at all and undergo multiple surgeries in pursuit of a ‘better’ look. This is something that all dermatologists run into at one point or another.
“Overall, it is best to have a discussion with the individual and prepare a plan of action and an ongoing concept of how to diminish signs of aging over time,” Dr. Schlessinger says. “This approach is highly successful and leads to less intervention in later years and, surprisingly, less expenditure over the years.”

 

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Twin Study Shows Smoking Prematurely Ages Face

A new study of twins demonstrates how smoking causes premature aging of the face, causing more wrinkles around the lips and sagging under the eyes
Researchers led by Bahman Guyuron, M.D., of the department of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals, Cleveland, set out to identify specific components of facial aging secondary to smoking. They did so by identifying 79 pairs of twins in which only one twin smoked or where one smoked at least five years longer than the other.
Participants completed questionnaires, and professional photographers took standardized photographs of the twins. A panel of three blinded judges analyzed the twins’ facial features and graded wrinkles using the Lemperle Assessment Scale, then ranked age-related facial features on a four-point scale.
According to the study, which was published in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, twins who smoked compared significantly less favorably to their non-smoking siblings in scores for upper-eyelid skin redundancy, lower-lid bags, malar bags, nasolabial folds, upper lip wrinkles, lower lip vermillion wrinkles and jowls. Lower-lid hyperpigmentation in the smoking group fell just short of statistical significance. There was no statistical difference in transverse forehead wrinkles, glabellar wrinkles, crow’s feet and lower lip lines accentuated by puckering.
Among twins with greater than five years’ difference in smoking duration, twins who had smoked longer had worse scores for lower lid bags, malar bags and lower lip vermillion wrinkles.
“The most important finding is confirmation of what was assumed to be the aging changes as the consequence of smoking in a scientific manner,” Dr. Guyuron tells Dermatology Times. “The malar bags and hyperpigmentation of the lower lids seem to be the most common features of the ‘smoker face.’”
This news is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Surgery & Med Spa
 
 

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'Globalization' of Cosmetic Surgery- by Dr. Mark Bishara, MD

Would you consider traveling to Mexico or India for a less-expensive rhinoplasty or breast augmentation procedure? Would you consider traveling to Texas for a Robotic Hair Transplant procedure?  Many Americans are doing just that-and the trend is having an impact on the market for cosmetic plastic surgery.
The paper, by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Kevin C. Chung and Lauren E. Franzblau of the University of Michigan, discusses “the rise and transformation of the medical tourism industry, foreign and domestic forces that influence cosmetic surgical tourism, and the pros and cons for all involved parties.” Chung and Franzblau write, “The rapid globalization of the industry also marks a fundamental shift in the world’s perception of elective procedures: patients are becoming consumers and these medical services are being viewed as commodities.”
At the office of Dr. Mark Bishara, with offices in Mansfield and Southlake, TX- we have patients traveling from all over the world for Robotic Hair Transplants.  We perform the surgery in both of our locations, making it even easier for patients to access the closest office for them.
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More ‘Medical Tourists’ Are Traveling for Cosmetic Surgery
Traveling for medical care is nothing new-but in the past, people were more likely to travel from poor countries to obtain higher-quality care in wealthier countries. Today, prompted by the ease and relatively low costs of travel, more patients from the United States and other western countries are traveling to the developing world to access less-costly medical and surgical procedures. Because cosmetic plastic surgery procedures aren’t covered by insurance, they make up a major part of the burgeoning medical tourism market.
Figures vary, but there’s a consensus that medical tourism is growing rapidly: India alone may have more than one million medical tourists per year. Other countries with growing medical tourism industries include Mexico, Dubai, South Africa, Thailand and Singapore.
In many countries, governments are working actively to foster their medical tourism industry. Some destinations even market procedures performed in resort-like settings, encouraging patients to combine a vacation with cosmetic surgery. Traveling abroad also lets patients recuperate privately, without anyone at home knowing that they’ve had plastic surgery.
Raising Potential Concerns Over Safety and Quality
The growth of medical tourism may have a significant impact on the cosmetic surgery market in the U.S., but also raises concerns over physical safety and legal protection. Although destination countries promote the quality and safety of their procedures and facilities, there is often little evidence to support these claims.
“Because the practice of medical travel does not appear to be going away in the foreseeable future, plastic surgeons must understand the international market and learn to compete in it,” Chung and Franzblau write. Since U.S. surgeons may find it hard to compete on price, effective strategies may include emphasizing superior quality and safety of care, or developing “niche markets” of procedures that can be profitably performed at home.
The authors emphasize that medical tourism “is not purely good or bad”-neither for patients nor the countries involved. Patients may be drawn by lower costs, but must consider the potential risks of undergoing surgery in a foreign country, as well as traveling after surgery. ASPS provides information for patients considering travel abroad for cosmetic surgery, including risks and follow-up care.
For the U.S. and other developed countries, medical tourism means fewer patients and less revenue-but may also bring increased opportunities for collaboration with rapidly modernizing countries in other parts of the world. Chung and Franzblau conclude, “To retain patients and be competitive in a global market, U.S. plastic surgery must be vigilant of the changes in medical tourism and must adapt accordingly.”
This news is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and
The Paragon Surgery & Med Spa
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