The Price of Perfection

This was my argumentative essay in which I argued that people should not have cosmetic surgery.

Sam Reidy

Argument Essay

22 Nov. 2010 The Price of Perfection

My mother’s tummy tuck was followed by excruciating pain, bed rest for 2 weeks, stomach scars, extreme sensitivity to sunlight, and a very scarred and odd looking belly button. My mother got a tummy tuck from a local plastic surgeon about two years ago. She, of course, went in with the intention of improving her looks and gaining confidence. My very small string-bean like mother had complained for years about the ‘loose skin on her stomach.’ She credited this quite unnoticeable flaw to the pregnancies of my two siblings and me. My mom has always been tiny and not even the slightest bit overweight. In fact I am often self-conscious because of how small my own forty- year- old mom is. Her receiving a tummy tuck is something I have to this day never been able to fathom. She was the last person who needed it, yet she believed she looked disgustingly fat in her clothes. My mother has always been overly conscious of her outward appearance, wanting to stay young, and always talking about “the beauty industry and how it is so important in society.” I told her countless times that she did not need the surgery. Of course she told me I knew nothing about it, and went through with it anyway. Unfortunately, the side effects and recovery period following the procedure were worse than expected. Her stomach never healed correctly, because the surgeon completely messed up her belly button and left it so she had a visible scar. The procedure made my mother very sick and her stomach has a permanent swollen look to it. Not to mention she spent $4,000 on a surgery that was done incorrectly.

Society plays a big role in America’s obsession with appearance and desperate attempts to achieve the perfect body. The media forces us to view reality shows, television shows, movies, and magazines that seem to be screaming about the need to be a size two with flawless facial structure and big boobs. Magazine covers are littered with pictures of synthetically pretty models. Eye-catching phrases surround them, ‘Flatter Abs in 5 Days!’ and ‘A Diet To Finally Trim Down Those Extra 2 Inches!’ Young women –even some men- have become fixated with looking a certain way in order to be happy. Our country seems to have lost the concept of inner beauty and sadly many people believe they will only be accepted by people with a bump free nose and bigger breasts.

Cosmetic surgery has become more popular each year since 1923, when the first plastic surgery practice opened in a public hospital in New York City. Cosmetic procedures have become more of a social norm, although people try to avoid others knowing they have changed parts of their appearance, in the hope that they will appear naturally blessed. Cosmetic and plastic surgery creates the false hope for a medical cure of our bodily flaws. It creates the illusion that we can control our body’s exterior with a breath of anesthesia and a few small nips and tucks. However, in addition to the moral controversies surrounding cosmetic surgery there are a vast amount of negative side effects, not to mention health risk, financial drawbacks, and of course, emotional issues.

Cosmetic surgery does not come cheap. These procedures can be extremely expensive, especially for returning patients. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons made a list of each individual procedure and its cost, which can range anywhere from $300 to $10,000. THe ASPS members compiled all plastic surgery records in 2009, and found that there were 11 million reported and board certified cosmetic procedures performed in the United States alone. Our country has made the main determinants of beauty our waist size, breast size, facial structure, and youthful looks. These views show in the statistics. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) in 2009 the top surgical procedures were: liposuction at 18.8%, breast augmentation (enlargement) at 17%, blepharoplasty (eyelid lifts) at 13.5%, rhinoplasty (nose re-shaping) at 9.4%, and abdominoplasty (tummy tucks) at 7.3%. These are disturbingly high numbers. Approximately 2/3 of those 11 million procedures became repeat patients. In addition, our country is currently in a consumer driven economic recession. Yet the plastic surgery rate is steadily rising despite the expensive price tags attached. According to Capital One credit company, who runs the Care Credit plan for doctors and patients, there are 30,000 doctors nationwide who have an account to accept credit payment from their patients. This message conveys to patients that no price is too steep for beauty and going into to debt for your looks is quite alright. Cosmetic procedures have increased to an $8.4 billion dollar industry, which is economically beneficial to plastic surgeons. However, this number shows the financial debt of the patients who are sucked into these unnecessary procedures time and time again. An article on the internet’s largest scientific blogging website, Science 2.0, stated that the United States was the #1 country of the top 25 countries with the most plastic surgery procedures during 2009. Yet we are in the midst of a financial debt crisis.

Even more importantly a person’s state of health is at great risk when going under the knife. The most common health risks found during or after plastic surgery are: infection, organ failure, allergic reaction to medications, disfigurement and scarring, excessive bleeding, blood clots, dissatisfaction with results, secondary surgery, pneumonia, and nerve damage, according to the online medical database, eHow. Liposuction is a very controversial procedure. There are quite a few cases that can be found involving death from liposuction. One fairly famous case was the death of Rohie Kah-Orukotan. Kah-Orukotan was a 37-year old single mother of three who received liposuction at a Florida MedSpa. After some complications at the end of the surgery, the surgeon Dr. Omar Brito, attempted to save Rohie. She was declared legally brain dead three days later, entered into a coma, and died two weeks later. NBC Miami said this was a fairly simple surgery, but it is unknown of the complications causing her death. However, it is known that Brito had only 18 hours of training prior to the procedure. He had faced charges against him in the past for the unlicensed practice of medicine. Sun-Sentinel, a local newspaper in Florida, reported that Florida MedSpa did not even have a license to do full liposuctions. Even more unnerving, Florida’s procedure law requires only 18 hours of training , which is only equivalent to a little over 2 full work days.

Similarly, 48-year-old Lourdes Trinidad received a liposuction procedure by Dr. Louis May Villanueva. Villanueva assured Trinidad that, “It would be a simple procedure.” The procedure took place in May of this year at May’s Millennium Cosmetic and Laser Institute in Tijuana, Baja California. When she was found dead, Villanueva was nowhere to be found. Once again, the cause of death during the procedure is unknown. This case is especially disturbing, because Villanueva fled and attempted to cash the check for the procedure even though Trinidad was dead. Although Villanueva claimed to be a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, 10News has proven his claims to be false. He also stated that he was a member of the American College of Phlebology, but further investigation revealed that any member of the public can join who would like to learn about leg veins. These malpractice cases are extremely disturbing, because of how easy it is for a doctor to list off a bunch of titles and credentials that may or may not be valid. Not all patients do adequate research on the surgeon, or may be unable to tell what is valid and what is not. The United States Health Department has not yet listed a law stating that deaths during plastic surgery must be recorded. In fact, plastic surgery deaths are hidden, so they can not even begin to form a statistic on it. It has been estimated that the death number would be significantly higher than what it is.

Another thing to consider, is that even with the most highly certified surgeon in the world, these procedures are extremely dangerous. Your body can only take so much nipping, tucking, slicing, breaking, and reassembling. The risk of blood clots and infections are high and can result in extreme sickness or death. Michael Olding MD., talks about the risks of breast augmentation. The two most common complications are breast implant ruptures and the leaking of the silicone into the body’s blood stream. Ruptures can cause a loss of sensation due to nerve ending damage. “From 1992-2008 there were 58 breast implant ruptures and doctors say they suspect that there were many more unreported cases,” (Olding). The recovery process of plastic surgery can be anywhere from several weeks to several months when everything goes smoothly.

Additionally, bad plastic surgeries should be a major red flag. Most people have seen the pictures of celebrities in magazines with clown-like plastic surgery results. There are endless possibilities of body disfigurement after a procedure; everything from a face lift that is too tight to an overdone nose job. Look at recent pictures of celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Jackie Stallone, Donatella Versace, Carrot Top, or even on a reality show such as The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Finally, the most alarming part of our country’s plastic surgery addiction is its addition to self-esteem depletion, lack of self-worth, and problems with BDD. Dr. Romero V., author of the article “How Prevalent is BDD?”, explains that BDD is a disorder also known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. BDD is made up of obsessions or exaggerated concern of flaws in one’s appearance and compulsions to reassure themselves temporarily that they are not ugly. Common compulsions are looking in the mirror, constantly questioning their appearance, seeking reassurance from others, weighing themselves, etc. Consequently, many sufferers of BDD and many people with low self-esteem alike are at high risk for cosmetic surgery addiction. They view it as a quick fix to a tiny imperfection. However, people suffering from these types of disorders are rarely satisfied with their looks and can potentially become repeat patients. With today’s high pressure to meet society’s beauty standards many adolescents and adults will fall prey to cosmetic surgery’s promising facade. The television shows Doctor 90210, Nip/Tuck, I Want a Famous Face, and The Real Housewives help in glamorizing cosmetic procedures. I Want A Famous Face on MTV was a show created to give someone the chance to look like their favorite celebrity. They literally reconstructed their entire faces and bodies to look like a celebrity they had always desired to be.

Increasingly, mothers and daughters have been coming into cosmetic surgery clinics to receive plastic surgery together. MSNBC recently did a report on this new mother-daughter trend. A mother’s insecurities can easily rub off on her daughter setting the example that these unhealthy habits are alright. Dr. Hema Sundaram, a Washington D.C. dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon was quoted by MSNBC saying, “I had a mom in her 40s bring in her 20-year-old daughter and was saying, “My daughter wants liposuction and her leg veins treated, and the daughter didn’t look like she wanted any of that.” Mother’s encouraging insecurities and plastic surgery to their daughters are increasing young women’s addiction to looking perfect. Girl’s are beginning to get plastic surgery before their bodies are even done developing. In 2009, ASPS member surgeons collected data on cosmetic surgery age distribution and an alarming 74,852 13 to 19 year olds received cosmetic surgery. 3% (8,199) of those surgeries were breast implants. Girls in that age bracket do not even have fully developed breasts yet and striving for perfection forces young women to feel the need to grow up faster. A 13 year old girl receiving breast implants is a disgusting thing that strips her of her childhood and innocence. To already be consumed by obsession over ones appearance at that age can quickly send a young and impressionable girl down a path toward BDD and plastic surgery addiction.

Contrastingly to the overall negative attributes going along with plastic surgery, there are some cases where people may find plastic surgery beneficial. There are cases where liposuction and other weight controlling cosmetic surgeries are necessary in order to save a morbidly obese person’s life. Stomach shrinking surgeries and removal of excess fat to help their slimming process is somewhat of a necessity, because of the many health problems obesity poses, the main one being death. In these cases, surgery becomes a lifesaver and no longer a cosmetic want. Also, there are certain body injuries that can only be corrected by plastic surgery. For example, breaking your nose during a basketball game may not be worth having it heal wrong and form a permanent hook. Tragedies like hair and skin loss due to a fire, a disease, or any other natural cause, for example, would most likely require cosmetic surgery.

Am I saying that cosmetic surgery in these cases is right? No. They are necessary. In these cases, it is not plastic or cosmetic surgery, but an emergency procedure to save your life or help you heal. These procedures would be listed with things like a doctor re-breaking your leg after an injury or performing an organ transplant. These types of surgeries are not to better your appearance in others eyes, but to help your body function properly. People may say, “But where is the line? How overweight is too overweight?” Too overweight is when your body is struggling to go about daily functions and it would then be up to a doctor’s discretion. The choice should not be left to a patients society influenced views of themselves.

Therefore, because of the health risks, financial debt, and emotional risks, plastic surgery should become illegal. We are losing our grip on what is real and what is fake. We are playing the role of creator and changing ourselves to fit a mold that we can not turn back from. The alarming amounts of people with depression, anxiety, and BDD shows how much pressure this country’s society puts on us. The media has completely contaminated our image of beauty. Instead of worrying about all the things that can make someone beautiful, America only strives for physical perfection. If that is the case, then why are we struggling with self-worth? If plastic surgery is so beneficial to people’s self confidence, then why are they never satisfied with one procedure? Why are people dying from it? Why do we feel such a need for perfection? If you feel overweight, eat healthy and exercise. Laziness causes this country to desire an instant fix to problems which is what plastic surgery seems to be there for. If you feel that your breasts are not big enough or are not shaped right: realize that any man who would judge you based on that does not love you for you. If you are worried about the wrinkles on your face: remind yourself that we are all meant to grow older, Botox will never slow down the process, and could potentially leave you looking like an overstretched balloon. You do not have to succumb to society’s beauty pressures, embrace the person you are meant to be and love yourself enough to not need other people’s approval. Cosmetic surgery is fueling the billion dollar industry that makes perfection seem possible. That is, until the girl with a half size bigger breasts prances by. Then, we once again place our dignity and life beneath the jagged knife. Are you next?