Cosmetic surgery is an invasive medical process that aims to change the physical appearance of a person for non-medical reasons.
Cosmetic surgery helps the patient to redesign the body’s contour or shape, reducing balding areas and smoothening wrinkles
In 2013 alone, America had over 15.1 million cosmetic procedures which was a 3% increase from 2012.
Most people are undergoing cosmetic surgery to develop an image, which makes them more comfortable with their appearance.
Some of the common cosmetic surgeries include breast surgery, liposuction, facelift, abdominoplasty, and body contouring procedures.
Breast surgery
Breast surgery also known as mammoplasty entails; breast reduction, breast reconstruction, and breast augmentation.
Breast reduction surgery minimizes the size of the breast. Breast reduction is common among women with breast cancer or breasts that have drooped due to aging, breastfeeding or one breast being bigger than the other.
Breast reconstruction improves the physical appearance by recreating breasts after mastectomy. Breast augmentation is the enlargement of the breast in case they are too small or the skin has lost elasticity.
Liposuction
Liposuction is a cosmetic producer, which uses suction technology to extract fat from different parts of the body like the hips and the abdomen.
Liposuction helps get rid of excess fats that cannot be lost through diet or exercise.
Surgeons inject saline, lidocaine, and epinephrine solution into an area filled with fat to suction fat with minimal blood and pain.
Other suctioning technology includes the use of sound waves to destroy the cell wall of the fat deposit or laser, which produces energy to liquefy fat.
Facelift(rhytidectomy)
A facelift helps develop a younger look on the face due to the sagging of skin with age.
During rhytidectomy, the surgeon surgically alters the tissue under the skin by pulling back the skin on each side.
The excess skin on the face is removed leading to a younger appearance and shape.
Facelift is common especially when the skin is less elastic and fat begins to decrease and increase in different parts of the face.
Abdominoplasty(tummy tuck)
Abdominoplasty removes excess fat and skin in the abdomen leading to tightened muscles and a flat abdomen.
Abdominoplasty minimizes itchiness and skin infection due to excess skin foldings around the abdomen.
Is cosmetic surgery safe?
Cosmetic surgery is not completely safe just like any other type of surgery.
To make the surgery a bit safer, the patient should not have a body mass index of 30 and above, since obesity makes the surgery riskier.
Besides, cosmetic surgery is not safe for persons with diabetes due to their ability to develop complications like blood clots in the lungs and legs.
Cosmetic surgery is not safe for smokers since smoking interferes with the healing process. Cosmetic surgery can cause permanent damage as a result of fluid buildup, especially during breast augmentation.
Unusual scarring due to skin breakdown causes irreversible damage, especially during facelift surgery.
Cosmetic surgery improves confidence but may also cause low self-esteem since it causes numbness and tingling due to nerve damage, which permanently affects the shape of the body.
