Background Of Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery has been defined as "Surgery (and related medical treatment) undergone to improve appearance rather than for health reasons."

The first ever person known to have benefited from plastic surgery was Walter Yeo, he was a sailor during World War 1 and needed a skin graft, which involves using skin from an undamaged area of the body. He was treated for his wounds by Sir Harold Gillies.




Walter Yeo - Before his skin grafts (left) and after (right)

 There is now a rising trend in people undergoing cosmetic procedures in order to achieve better looks rather than for practicality, and is steadily increasing as years go by. In the following blogs I am going to outline the dangers behind this rising trend which is being set by celebrity role models to women in todays society, and if it is really as beneficial as celebrity A Listers make out..

Cosmetic surgery however still has its uses today and developments in technology and science have allowed a broad range of procedures to be able to become possible. Although there is a rise in surgery being done for vanity, and wanting to look better it is still very much still used to help people for burns, and disfigurements just like it was used to help Walter Yeo.

This is evident in the story of Katie Piper. She is now a burns victim, the result of her boyfriend getting someone to throw acid in her face because of his jealousy. However after going through overwhelming reconstructive plastic surgery with the help of her reputable surgeon Mr Mohammed Jawad, her face is now a lot better looking than what it was when she was first burnt. 

An extract from her autobiography, Beautiful by Katie Piper outlines this: "..we'll take skin from your back and buttocks, and graft it onto your face, neck, chest and hands. Afterwards we'll put you in an induced coma so you'll have the best chance of recovery" 

 The first image shows the extents to which her burns were, and in the second below that the work of Mr Jawad is clearly evident, as her burns look a lot better.

Katie is also campaigning against prejudice towards people with disfigurement. Watch below, a clip about Katie Piper.



Personally I believe that surgery used to help those with disfigurement and burns is a more effective use of resources because they actually need the surgery to help them get back to leading a normal lifestyle, in comparison to individuals who want surgery to simply appear better looking.

What Is Attracting People To Cosmetic Surgery

Women, and equally men and teenage girls are being lured into the high risk industry of cosmetic surgery and modifications to their bodies which are fuelled by this desire to appear ‘perfect’, however indisputably this should start ringing alarm bells to people. This desire to appear perfect can easily then spiral out of control, especially in the case of teenage girls who naturally have an inquisitive mind and lead to their aspirations instead of being to achieve good grades, and do well in life become “when I grow up I want a boob job just like Katie Price” or “when I’m older I want to liposuction for my thighs and stomach”.



The editor of Bliss Magazine

Bliss Magazine conducted a survey on 2000 girls with an average age of 14, and alarmingly 40% admitted to wanting cosmetic surgery, with only 8% saying they were happy with their bodies.

The effect of this poor body image and self esteem can have a selection of different consequences depending on the person, however especially in young teenage girls the result can often be eating disorders such as Anorexia, in order to become more thin, to have this perfect body shape like their idol celebrities. Anorexia takes over a persons brain, and makes them want to go to extreme lengths to avoid putting on any weight. Statistics outline that 95% of all people with anorexia are aged between 12 and 25.

Shown below is an extreme case of anorexia.

Personally I think that this search for perfection will be never ending, as soon as one issue is tackled through surgery, for example a wrinkle on someones forehead, they may then find another imperfection that they will result to going under the knife for. This will then be on going and individuals will regularly be having procedures done. I believe that this is unhealthy, both physically and mentally because the effects will eventually take their toll on the person.