By Susan Gail, Cosmetic Surgery Patient Advisory Director, Einstein Medical
Change me...Fix me...Make me perfect
Better abs, better butts, better breasts. Better bodies. That is what America wants, and to satisfy these desires, plastic and cosmetic surgeons all over the country are providing services to millions of people. Body contouring is big business. According to the ASAPS 2002 Statistics, liposuction was the most popular surgical procedure, with 372,831 procedures performed. Breast augmentations and reductions totaled almost 350,000 procedures. Cosmetic surgery - including the procedures already mentioned along with buttocks lift, abdominoplasty, male breast reduction, thigh lift, upper arm lift and lower body lift - is a $7 billion industry.
What does all of this say about us? And what is it, exactly, that we want? We want fullness where we are flat and flatness where we are full. Women want feminine curves in our lower backs, hips and waist - we want an hourglass shape. And we want fuller breasts. Men want a flat chest and sculpted abdominal muscles or "six-pack abs." Body contouring is a new art form directly aimed at the growing number of people who work out regularly and want to see real muscle definition. Often described as a "higher level" of liposuction surgery, it was developed for people who demand great results.
We are a country with rampant obesity rates coupled with state-of-the-art nutritional information that is more easily available now than ever before. Surgery to reshape our bodies is only one answer, and not always the best one. So when should you resort to body contouring? Is it a diet plan for the privileged after a summer of playing? Should it be used repeatedly when patients refuse to change their eating and exercising behaviors? Is liposuction the solution to years of us abusing our bodies? The answer to all these questions is a resounding "No."
The ideal candidate for most body sculpting techniques is within 15% of their ideal body weight. Patients should be physically healthy, psychologically stable and emotionally realistic in their expectations. It is not designed for anyone who is uniformly heavy, and it won't necessarily change a patient's looks to match her ideal. Nor will it cause other people to treat her differently.
Magazines, newspapers and the Internet are filled with before and after pictures extolling the virtues and benefits of body contouring. For someone like me, these pictures have a definite allure. What I would like is a flat stomach and thighs without lumps. Sounds simple enough, but it isn't. There are so many factors to be considered. I was extremely overweight as a young woman. Unfortunately, this is a factor that makes liposuction for re-contouring purposes a no-no. Due to the stretching of my skin from excess fat when I was young, several surgeons have warned me that my lower body would end up looking saggy if fat were removed from any area of my legs other than my outer thighs.
As for the tummy area, no amount of liposuction can help with the quantity of extra skin I possess. I have great muscles in my stomach area, but no one can see them under all that skin! I could do sit-ups from morning 'til night but they would never have the effect I was going for; only an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) would alter my contour. But do I want to do what it takes surgically to improve my looks?
From my clients' experiences I know that it will take months before I see significant results from this type of surgery. I also know that there is pain and discomfort in the healing process. While I have never had a tummy tuck, for me the most difficult aspect of recovering from the cosmetic surgery procedures I underwent was the physical restrictions required for successful healing. For tummy tuck, compression garments are a must, but the length of time you'll have to wear them can vary from 24 hours a day for three weeks to 6-8 weeks of constant wear, depending on the surgeon. It is important to note that most experts agree that post-op care is as important as your surgeon's level of expertise.
Do I look great in clothes? Yes. How do I feel in a bikini? Lousy and frustrated. Am I ready for the knife? I'm not quite sure yet. I seem to be leaning toward it. I am one of those people who exercises daily and eats conscientiously most of the time. I use the word "conscientious" because it is the key to living intelligently without rejecting pleasure. I still haven't met a chocolate chip cookie I didn't like! I work out hard so that I no longer have to deny myself such pleasures. A life of denial crimps the soul. I'll be having none of that at my age.
Aging is awesome in its beauty but also in its severity. Most people are forced to confront the issue of aging when their bodies head south without their permission. Ask anyone over 40. What does the world see as it looks at us? Is it kinder and gentler than we are to ourselves? I believe that the answer is yes, but for thousands like me, that is not good enough. Neither is the false image of perfection and youth procured in every form of advertising. While modern medicine is a gift, no amount of surgery is going to give any of us the body we had when we were kids. But we can get as close to this ideal as possible with intelligent decisions, responsible choices and great surgeons.
Susan Gail is the author of Cosmetic Surgery: Before, Between and After. She is a cosmetic surgery consultant, Patient Advisory Director for Einstein Medical, Inc., and creator of the Survive and ThriveŽ postoperative care kit. Susan's comprehensive website provides free information and insider tips. If you would like to ask Susan Gail a question, click here to post a message. She can also be reached toll free at: 877-SZNGAIL
