Cosmetic surgery patients regret not learning more before undergoing procedures, study suggests

Thursday, March 22, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: cosmetic surgery, health news, Natural News

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) says that patients need to do more research before undergoing plastic surgery. The conclusion was based on the results of a poll of 617 cosmetic or reconstructive surgery patients which revealed a large percentage of patients having regrets about not learning more about cosmetic surgery side effects before undergoing the surgery.

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What you need to know - Conventional
View

• Eighty percent of the patients polled said they were satisfied with the results of their surgery, and 91 percent said that they knew what to expect ahead of time.

• Forty percent, however, revealed they wished they had done more research prior to the procedure, while only 28 percent reported having checked their surgeon's credentials.

• More than half of the patients polled said that they had been concerned about potential side effects or complications related to their surgery, but that they had not been properly informed about them or felt comfortable asking questions of their surgeon.

• In 2005, more than 10.2 million cosmetic and 5.4 million reconstructive plastic surgeries were performed in the United States.

• Among cosmetic surgeries, the most popular was liposuction. Next came nose jobs, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery and tummy tucks.

• Quote: "You can afford to be nonchalant about some things, but surgery is not one of them." - Dr. Roxanne Guy, president of ASPS

What you need to know - Alternative View

Statements and opinions by Mike Adams, executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center

• Too many patients view cosmetic surgery as a cure-all for poor lifestyle decisions surrounding diet and exercise. These surgeries are typically over-hyped and the full potential side effects are rarely explained to patients in a meaningful way.

• Even though surgeries may produce short-term cosmetic results, they do nothing to enhance personal health, and unless a healthy lifestyle is pursued by patients, they will never appear thin, fit or healthy, regardless of how many cosmetic surgeries are performed.

Bottom line

• Patients need to do more research into their surgeon's credentials and into potential side effects before committing to plastic surgery.