A LITTLE HISTORY AND SOME FUN …

Even though you may not be interested in getting plastic surgery done, it is still a pretty complex topic that is fairly captivating.  Let’s explore it and look at some facts worth learning … or remembering!

1. Plastic surgery does not mean artificial or fake.  On the contrary, “plastic” is derived from the Greek plastikos, meaning “to mold” or “give form”, and the term “surgery” is derived from the Greek kheirourgos, from kheir - “hand” + ergon - “work.”  So basically plastic surgery has nothing to do with the use of synthetic or plastic materials; it means molding or shaping with the hands.
2. Plastic Surgery has been practiced for over 2700 years, since about 600 B.C., with the first recorded “nose Job” found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts. It is said that physicians would reconstruct noses by cutting skin from either the cheek or forehead of the patients and then twisting the skin, side out, over a leaf of the appropriate size, and sewing it into place. Two polished wooden tubes would then be inserted into the nostrils, during the healing process, in order to keep the air passage open.
   
3. By the first century B.C., Romans were practicing various forms of plastic surgery to repair noses, eyes, lips, and teeth. Roman physician Cornelius Celsus (25 B.C.- A.D. 50) also describes procedures such as circumcision reversal and even breast reduction in men.  Another popular procedure of the time, was scar removal, particularly on the back of patients, as these scars were marks of shame, suggesting that the patient had turned his back in battle, or worse, that he had been whipped like a slave.
4. Then, during the Middle Ages, plastic surgery was typically deemed pagan and sinful and the power the surgeon had over the body, were akin to magic.
5. During the Renaissance, when plastic surgery became popular, surgeons took skin grafts from various donors, such as a neighbor’s pig, to create a nose for example, but when that shriveled up and fell off, they concluded that the flesh was “sympathetic,” meaning that the graft died when its original owner died.  Most of these surgeries were also performed in barbershops.
6. The “father of modern plastic surgery,” Italian Gaspare Tagliacozzi (1946 – 1599), in his textbook De curtorum chirugiau, notes that there was an increase need for nose operations due to duels and street fights and also due to the pervasive outbreak of syphilis.  He used a “virtual” nose, but it could also fall off, if the user blew too hard.
7. In 1794, British surgeons witnessed an Indian bricklayer repair the nose of a British cattle driver who had his nose and hand cut off while a prisoner.  The surgeons then brought the procedure back to Europe where interest grew rapidly.
8. Karl Ferdinand Graefe (1787 – 1840) coined the term “plastic surgery” in his 1818 text Rhinoplastik.  He was also the one who gave the nose reconstruction procedures the name “rhinoplasty”, in an attempt to make it more similar to other procedures and remove the moral stigma associated with it.
9. On November 24^th, 1893, we have the first modern breast augmentation in Heidelberg Germany, by Vincent Czerny, on a 41 year old singer. The patient had a fatty growth (lipoma) on her back, which was harvested, removed and transplanted to her breast, after the removal of a growth.
10. Plastic and Cosmetic surgery, as we know it today, has many of its roots in World War I, since the overwhelming number of invalids and disfigured victims forced the surgeons to improvise and experiment.  This developed innovative and new plastic surgery techniques that are used until today.  As a matter of fact, the injection of liquid silicone to plump out legs withered by polio was used at that time in Japan, which brought forth the injection of the same silicone to breasts.  Also, surgeons who served in WWI established the American Association of Plastic Surgery, in 1931, and helped limit unregulated plastic surgery.
11. World War II helped build on that knowledge, advancing Plastic Surgery techniques, including building of entire limbs, extensive skin grafts, microsurgery, antibodies, and increased knowledge about tissue health.  These procedures were mandated in Nazi Germany and enabled the “too ugly” soldier to become a “real” soldier, and increased the performance of Benito Mussolini’s Italian soldiers, by correcting drooping eyelids.
12. The modern age of breast augmentation began in 1962 with the implant of silicone gel-filled prosthesis by Doctors Cronin and Gerow.
13. Dr Yves-Gerald Illouz, developed liposuction as we know it today, using blunt cannulas to remove fat, in France, in 1977.
14. In 1988, US President Bill Clinton signed a bill, which required insurance companies to cover the cost of reconstructive breast surgery for women who had undergone mastectomy.
15. And some fascinating numbers: a) Two thirds of plastic surgery patients are repeat patients, b) men account for only 9% of the total plastic surgeries, c) over the last 15 years cosmetic procedures have increased by 457%, d) nearly 10 billion dollars are spent annually on cosmetic procedures, and e) the most popular performed procedure is Botox (botulism toxin).
16. Lastly, some interesting procedures: a) the voice lift, b) pectoral implants for men, c) dimple fabrication, d) calf implants, e) toe tuck, and f) toe shortening.

ISN’T YOUR BODY WORTH PROTECTING?

We live in a preventative and protective society. We protect our homes with burglar alarms, guard dogs and bars on the windows. We protect our cars with high-tech alarm systems. We protect many of our personal belongings – our laptop computers, our musical instruments, our cameras and our cell phones – with protective cases. We protect our money by investing it in banks and savings bonds. Our law books are filled with laws that protect our reputations from libel, our economy from monopolies, our borders from illegal aliens, our ability to think, speak and write freely and our rights to education and jobs.

There is only one thing that we as a society overwhelmingly fail to protect: Our bodies. Everyday, people suffer and die from diseases that are largely preventable. These diseases – heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and depression – are often a result of our diets and lifestyle. We can control our relative risk of developing these diseases and, more often than not, we make the choices that increase our risk.

We smoke, filling our lungs with nicotine and other harmful chemicals, even though we know that smoking increases the risk for nearly every fatal disease plaguing our society. We overeat until we are obese, again increasing our risk of developing these common diseases. We eat foods that we know are bad for our health. Why? We wouldn't dare put a fuel in the gas tanks of our cars that we knew would damage the car, in place of gasoline. Yet, we're perfectly willing to damage our bodies with fuels not meant for us.

As far as our material and our economic possessions are concerned, we will go to all ends to protect them. We act proactively and prevent damage or ruin before it happens. Yet, our population has a general inability to think proactively about our health. We make decisions that negatively affect our health and then, when all these negative decisions finally add up to a disease, we wonder why we have to suffer. We ask, "Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?"

The healthy attitude:

A fundamental key to healthy eating is to eat a variety of foods. This ensures your body has enough nutrients to function. Nutrients are the substances in food that provide your body with energy and the ability to grow, maintain itself, and repair damaged tissue. Nutrients are divided into six categories: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Although not considered a nutrient, you also need fiber for good health. Your body requires different amounts of each nutrient because they all have a special function. While it is rare for a food to only contain one nutrient, the easiest way to ensure you receive all you need is by eating a variety of foods within and among the major food groups. Try to select foods from each of the food groups daily and vary your choices within groups from day to day. Different foods within the same food group contain different levels of nutrients. For example, among the fruits, strawberries are especially rich in vitamin C, while cantaloupes are rich in vitamin A. Eating a variety of foods from each food group everyday promotes:

• An adequate intake of essential nutrients
• Moderation in the consumption of fat, salt, caffeine, and alcohol.
• The positive and pleasurable aspects of pleasurable eating by exploring a wide range of foods varying in color, flavor and texture.
• The use of foods and cuisines enjoyed by different ethnic and cultural groups. 

As the adage goes, “variety is the spice of life”. Even if you eat beans frequently, you can enjoy pinto beans in Mexican burritos today, garbanzo beans in Greek salad tomorrow, and baked beans with barbecued chicken on the weekend. Eating nutritious meals should never be monotonous. Remember, eating a variety of foods does more than add excitement to eating; it helps ensure all essential nutrients are consumed! It prevents boredom and keeps your body stimulated to perform. Just like cross training with an exercise program does, eating a variety of foods keeps your body stimulated. For some folks, enhancing the variety in their diet is a key strategy for weight loss! Balance the foods you eat with regular physical activity to help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Thus, be kind to your body!  It’s the most valuable of your possessions!

Photo sourced from: http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/12240090

GREEN LIGHT OR RED FLAG?

I always try to keep up-to-date with what is going on in the world, in regards to Plastic Surgery, and in one of the articles I was reading, a phrase caught my attention. It said: “… the surgeon can only affect how the world sees you, not the way you really are.”  It got me thinking as to what that meant exactly, but somehow I interpreted it as referring to the expectations we have from a cosmetic procedure done, whether it be on our face or body.

It is true that post-op, plastic surgery patients generally report a boost in self-confidence, self-esteem and enjoyment of life, an enhanced feeling of health and a diminished feeling of anxiety … but it will not transform you into someone else, improve your social life, or the way you look at the world.  Plastic surgery, for example, will not save a marriage – neither will having a baby, or buying a new house, for that matter. But you do realize what I’m saying. Cosmetic surgery can help people take pride in their appearance and enhance their day-to-day outlook on life, but it cannot turn a homely housewife into a drop-dead beauty queen running down the catwalk in a Miss America-type pageant. 

And it’s true that most of us have something we don’t like about our appearance, and want to change it, … nonetheless, these issues may be solved with a procedure, giving us a GREEN LIGHT for plastic surgery!  There are those though, who are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their “horrible nose”, their “hideous acne”, or their “revolting hair”, sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup or in front of a full-length mirror.  However, there are people who are suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD - a body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance), which causes them to be obsessed by their perceived flaws in their appearance, and it gets them thinking about these flaws for hours and hours each day, inevitably interfering with their lives, to the point where they simply disintegrate. As Katharine A. Phillips states in her book The Broken Mirror: Understanding and treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder, this disorder may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. People with BDD can’t control their negative thoughts and don’t believe people who tell them they look fine.  Their thoughts may cause severe emotional distress and they do tend to avoid social situations, while concurrently they try to isolate themselves in order to keep their flaws hidden.

BDD drives sufferers to have numerous unnecessary plastic surgeries to correct imperfections, but they never find satisfaction with the results. A great example is Jenny Lee, who was also a guest at the Oprah show for the number of plastic surgeries she has done: 59 in total! When Lee was questioned about how she feels about herself after her plastic surgeries, she replied: "When I look at my reflection, I still don't like what I see.  I'm trying to grow to accept what I see... If I could be just OK with it -- just OK -- I would be very happy." Oprah on the other hand said that this woman really looked like a real-life Barbie doll!  This is precisely the definition of BDD and consequently a RED FLAG for plastic surgery!  So as you can tell: “… the surgeon can only affect how the world sees you, not the way you really are.”

What it boils down to is the fact that it really is a plastic surgeon’s responsibility to assess a prospective patient’s reasons and expectations from a procedure, before agreeing to operate. That having been said, the best outcomes will be for the patients who take personal responsibility for their own reasons and expectations. So, while you’re making up that list of questions to ask your surgeon, make sure you are also taking the time to ask yourself the important questions.

Works cited:

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Broken_Mirror.html?id=Nok4aaWIWAYC

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/jenny-lee-oprah-plastic-surgery_n_3636939.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_dysmorphic_disorder

MATURING MEN, AGING WOMEN

Margaret Thatcher once said: “In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” At the time, I did not understand what she was talking about, nor did I realize the fact that she was actually using gender stereotypes. It just sounded funny to me!  Coming to think about it though, it does bring to the surface a certain mentality that we, as a society, tend to associate with.  And this is the fact that we are inclined to use stereotypes in our everyday living.

Gender stereotypes are simplistic generalizations about the gender attributes, differences, and roles of individuals and/or groups.  Stereotypes may be positive or negative, but they rarely communicate accurate information about others. Nevertheless, when it comes to gender, double standards are alive and well.

You are probably wondering where I’m taking this… Well let me tell you!  If a man has a messy home, then he really has more important things to do, while a woman with a messy home is, plain and simple, lazy! If a woman is blunt and assertive, speaking her mind, she is deemed bossy, aggressive and arrogant, while a man is simply showcasing his executive leadership skills. Men like to talk in a polemical way, whereas women’s talking is milder.  Women can’t work on technical things and are not good at “hands on” projects, men separate their lives into compartments and work on one at a time, women become nurses, men become doctors … And it goes on and on, as these inequalities arguably exist because it is common practice for people to judge men and women’s behavior by different standards.  Even television, books, comic strips and movies are all abundant sources of stereotypes characters, with Homer Simpson being the biggest example of the American stereotype as perceived by the world. 

These stereotypes however, also exist in terms of appearance. Wrinkles on the forehead of a man present “great thinking” and “maturity”, while for women, it simply means they are getting old!  Women who have a few extra pounds, fullness in the thighs or around the stomach, will never show up in a TV commercial or a magazine, while no restrictions apply to an overweight man.

Which reminds me of another example: hair color, which actually presents an interesting distinction between men and women.  When a woman encounters a “Silver Fox” (an older man with gray hair), she finds him sexy.  Gray hair does not imply the man is unfit, physically or emotionally.  It implies wisdom, maturity, experience and stability.  Put gray hair on a woman and she is not going to be sexy, no matter who she is.  Hair coloring is something completely acceptable and even expected for women.  If she allows herself to gray naturally, she is not concerned about being attractive, therefore, why should men be attracted to her?  Now, if men color their hair, people see it as silly and vain and it is also seen as a display of low self-confidence.  Take George Clooney, Pierce Brosnan and John Slattery for example.  Their silver locks distinguish them by giving them a mature, sophisticated, smart look … but take a woman with gray hair and she immediately falls in the category of “not taking care of herself, frumpy”!

But it does not stop there … the great advantage men have over women is that our culture allows two standards of male beauty: the boy and the man.  The single standard of beauty for women though, dictates that every wrinkle, every line, every gray hair, is a defeat.  And it is true that no boy minds becoming a man, while even the passage from girlhood to early womanhood is experienced by many women as their downfall, and all women are trained to continue wanting to look like girls: young and fresh.  We tend to glorify youth in women … and when certain parts start … well, “heading south”, we also tend to see that as a sign that the whole person is out to pasture!

It is unfair, but the aggravating truth is that older men can remain desirable without spending a single cent on botox, lifts, plucks and tucks. But this also explains why 95% of the patients at a plastic surgeon’s office are women, looking for facelifts, liposuctions, abdominoplasty, breast surgeries, etc.!