Plastic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery is an interesting topic and it is becoming more popular each year. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery there were 11.7 million cosmetic procedures performed in 2007. I'm sure that number has only grown since then.

I'd like to preface this post by saying I think cosmetic and reconstructive surgery can be a great blessing for many people who have been disfigured by accidents or birth defects. Cosmetic surgery may help some feel more confident by correcting physical abnormalities, however this topic is usually dominated by celebrities and surgery addicts that we see in the media. Most cases we read about or see on T.V. are done out of vanity rather than necessity, but unless we are talking about extreme cases, I'm not going to pass judgement in this post.

Years ago I read the book Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. He was a plastic surgeon and he made some interesting observations from years of practice. He found that some of his patients had increased confidence and better self esteem after surgery but many others did not. He promoted visualization and self affirmation techniques to those who were still lacking confidence after surgery. He concluded that more important than one's appearance is how people really feel about themselves.

As cosmetic procedures become more popular, I guess it's only a matter of time until you see plastic surgery offered at Costco or at the mall. I've heard some people say how happy they are with their surgery but I've heard others express regret. It's obviously a good idea to get all the facts and do your homework before submitting to any surgical procedure, especially an elective one that you may not need.