The twenty-first century has brought about a very interesting, highly paradoxical stream of behaviors, thoughts and prejudice. While on one hand everything seems to be so modernized and progressive that a “regular” human, i.e. a common 9-5 citizen, has difficulties keeping up with the ongoing, supposedly out-of-the-box thinking, on the other – the attitudes we are repeatedly voicing seem to echo a much known cave mentality, slaving to judgment and all the shoulds and shouldn’ts. The path to self-love is slippery, especially with everyone having something to say about it.
One of the aspects of modern beauty (and modern prejudice!) is plastic surgery. It feels like (almost) everyone is doing it and those that are not are trying to actively remind us how shallow and superficial we are for caring about our physical appearance. Apparently, everything’s about having a beautiful soul these days (even though we all know that’s untrue) and any physical alterations you want to make simply have to come from a leaf of green salad and free weights. If they come from any other source – they’re judged.
Surgeries and Prejudice
Putting aside corrective surgery done in vain (but then again, who are we to label anyone “vain”, really?) cosmetic surgery is more of a blessing than anything else. Just as therapy helps the soul recover from ongoing anxieties and long-ago heart-etched scaring, so does cosmetic surgery help a person restore their confidence, alter what they’ve always disliked about themselves and live a happy, confident life.
To a person whose curvy nose has always been the target of mockery and bullying, to a victim of fire whose face and neck scars have significantly decreased their quality of life, to someone who can’t breathe due to a deviated septum or to a working mother whose post-baby flabby stomach simply won’t go away – surgery is the ticket to mental and physical salvation. The question that imposes itself is: why do we love judging people’s individual choices so much, even though they aren’t at all linked to our lives? Think about it. The fact you are talking against someone’s desired choices goes into bullying section on auto-pilot, and we really hope you don’t want to be THAT person.
Not-so-shallow a Procedure
While cosmetic surgery is geared towards enhancing a patient’s appearance (breast enhancement, facial contouring (rhinoplasty, chin, or cheek enhancement, facial rejuvenation (facelift, eyelid lift, neck lift, brow lift), body contouring (liposuction, tummy tuck, gynecomastia) and skin rejuvenation (botox, laser resurfacing, fillers)), plastic surgery is focused on repairing defects, to reconstruct a normal function and appearance. The two types of surgery stand shoulder to shoulder.
Examples of plastic surgery procedures:
- Burn repair surgery
- Breast reconstruction
- Congenital defect repair: Cleft palate, extremity defect repair
- Hand surgery
- Lower extremity reconstruction
- Scar revision surgery
Along with the listed procedures, often go rhinoplasty and otoplasty (ear corrective surgery).
Otoplasty
Although otoplasty doesn’t have any other function but a cosmetic one, it can significantly restore a person’s confidence and self-love. Patients who are dissatisfied with the shape, size or orientation of their ears can have their appearance alteredquickly and safely, and enjoy their appearance once and for all. It is important to know that “otoplasty also includes ear/earlobe reduction and cauliflower ear surgery to remove and recontour excess skin and cartilage.
Rhinoplasty
One of the most commonly done procedures, rhinoplasty is practiced both for the purpose of altered appearance and improved breathing (depending on the patient’s condition). To some, a curved nose comes with difficulties in breathing, migraines and troubled sleeping, which makes this a medical problem with a practical solution. With the help of facial cosmetic surgeons, virtually any problem can be solved easily. Furthermore, to those who are opting for rhinoplasty for cosmetic reasons, such as changing the shape and/or the size of their nose, the effect is not only cosmetic but mental, too. People who opt for rhynoplasty for cosmetic reasons are recorded to have a major increase in self-confidence and overall quality of life.
Sleep Apnea
Surgery usually involves nasal and or palate surgery as causes of sleep apnea are three-fold: a general, nasal or throat obstruction. Surgery performed on the palate is called uvulopalatopharygoplasty (aka UPPP); it involves the careful surgical removal of excess tissue from the soft palate and uvula. The end-result of the operation is to make the airway larger, so vibrations are decreased and a patient’s breathing bettered.
Head and Neck Cancer Surgery
Head and neck cancer can affect anyone with presentations in salivary glands, the voice box, thyroid and parathyroid glands, nose, sinus, throat and mouth. Symptoms of head and neck cancer are often manifested through a voice that is deteriorating, a neck lump increasing in size, a nasal obstruction getting worse, swallowing difficulty and any persistent bleeding. This is why surgery is absolutely needed and plenty a patient decides to take that step.