http://www.blogher.com/own-your-beauty-i-look-different-when-we-got-married?from=hot
This poignant and thoughtful piece about her struggle to learn that it's hard to love until we learn to love ourselves had me wondering to what extent my chosen profession contributes to the problem of women losing sight of their individual beauty and defining themselves based on outward appearance and others' reaction to them.
I realize that, because it is not possible to require providers of aesthetic medicine and surgery to pass some sort of "Integrity Test", that there will always be predatory behavior in our world, and that this behavior does, indeed complicate the journey to peace and happiness for some women.
How any young woman struggling with an eating disorder must feel and what she must think when she sees an irresponsible advertisement promising she could "Lose 3 gallons of fat..." or "Lose 9 inches in an hour" makes me wish the system did have a way of more strictly limiting the kind of people allowed to finish medical school. It seems to me our nation used to be better at ensuring graduating doctors were uniformly people of high integrity.
And while I know I can feel positive about my own approach to my profession, my patients, and my marketing, I also realize that the behavior of these less scrupulous people necessarily affects my own reputation, and that of the entire field of Plastic Surgery, by association.
I do believe (very strongly) that under the right circumstances, and in the hands of a responsible, ethical, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, the pursuit of aesthetic surgery can be a very positive thing....
Women seeking to have their external appearance reflect the way they feel on the inside- to present the beauty to the world that they feel... are uniformly happy and grateful for the opportunity and intervention.
When pursued with concerning motivations, unrealistic goals, or for the satisfaction of someone else, aesthetic surgery is rarely gratifying for the patient or the surgeon.
This deeper understanding of the psychology of plastic surgery, as well as the nuances of human form and anatomy, delicate surgical techniques involved, and details of postoperative care all have contributed to the advancements in outcomes and safety all patients have benefitted from over the past 40-50 years....
And which no ER doctor, eye doctor, or gynecologist could possibly hope to attain after a few weekends at a resort learning about "Smart" lipo, "Body Jet" lipo, or any other machine....
By allowing irresponsible doctors who haven't gone through the rigorous and disciplined training that Board Certified Plastic Surgeons go through to perform surgery on our sisters, wives, mothers, and daughters, our society is abandoning the benefit that Plastic Surgeons' training and good judgement brings to the relationship. And this is fundamentally the cause of the deaths and injuries we read and hear about every few months.
Love yourself enough to seek intervention for the right reasons, have realistic expectations, and respect yourself enough to only place your safety and happiness in the care of someone with the education, training, and integrity to make it worthwhile.
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