What You Need To Know About Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery might seem easy. It might seem simple and it might seem like the answer to all of your problems. But even if you could get surgery to correct your slightly bent nose, or to make your breasts bigger, or even something considered non-invasive (such as Botox, fillers or facial peels), you might not want to after reading this. Here, we share everything you need to know about plastic surgery before you even step foot inside the surgeon's office.

Surgery is Surgery

Plastic surgery is often billed as something easy. Something that's quick, pain-free and that'll instantly give you the results you're looking for. But what you need to know is that even non-invasive procedures have side effects. Surgery is still surgery, whether you're doing it for medical reasons or for aesthetic reasons.

Yep, the risks associated with surgery are low, but during that time, you're at a heightened risk of stroke, heart attack and much more.

There Will Always Be Side Effects

They can range from minimal - redness, swelling and a little bit of bruising at the injection site, if you've had something like fillers or an injectable treatment, to the severe. You could experience numbness and complete loss of feeling at the site of the operation - in breast reconstruction surgeries, for example, between 10-70% of patients experience a complete and permanent loss of sensation in the nipples. Pain is probably the main side effect that you'll experience after surgery of any kind, and it can't always be controlled by painkillers. The pain might also make it difficult for you to sit, stand, walk or do any of your daily activities. It's tough, and it's tougher than your surgeon will let on.

You Need to Have Clear Expectations

Not all surgeons have rigorous standards. Not all surgeons will do a psychiatric evaluation before scheduling you in for a procedure. Not all surgeons will make sure that the procedure you've requested is right for you - they'll just do the surgery anyway as they could use the extra money.

See Also: What a Plastic Surgeon Can Offer - Explore the Possibilities

A nose job won't change the entire look of your face, Botox won't necessarily make you look younger and an eyebrow lift won't always make your eyes look bigger. It's the surgeon's job to make sure that you'll be able to cope with the surgery, that the surgery is right for you and that you're physically and mentally able to recover from the procedure. You should also be able to ask them whether a different procedure, surgery or even just a beauty treatment would be better for you and you should expect an honest answer. One surgeon we spoke to had a patient who visited for a brow lift consultation was told that a brow shape and tint were all she needed - saving her $15,000 and a complicated, painful surgery.

Bargain Plastic Surgeries Aren't Worth It

If a procedure is half the price that it should be, there's probably a very good reason why. We often hear of people flying out to somewhere in Europe or Asia for a procedure that's half the price it'd cost in America. While it's usually good to grab a bargain, in this case, we can't advise you any more strongly against it. If you travel to a foreign country, you won't understand the language, won't be able to express when you're in pain and you might not be in the best of care.

Black market surgeons are also an increasingly booming industry - who hasn't heard of the woman who had concrete injected into her butt? Or the lady who can flip her bum implants inside out? There are probably hundreds of thousands of these so-called practitioners that could jeopardize your health in the worst of ways, so it's important that you do your research and realize that if you're going to get cut open, it's worth spending a little bit extra to make sure that everything goes okay.

A New Treatment Isn't Always Best

Plastic surgeons are often in competition with other, which means that they tend to offer the newest technology and the newest treatments. But the problem with these new treatments is that although the healing process might be a little faster or the scar a little bit smaller, the vast majority of these brand spanking new treatments have had no longitudinal studies to determine how beneficial they are in the long-term - how many side effects there might be, how long the treatment might last for, whether there are any side effects that might occur years down the line. Although you might be first in line for one of the latest advances in beauty, there's no telling how things will turn out five years down the line.

Treatments Don't Last Forever

For non-invasive treatments like Botox, rollers, fillers, injectables and laser treatments, you expect to have to repeat the treatment a couple of times a year. But you'd expect a full-on surgery to last for a while, right? Wrong.

See Also: Plastic Surgery Takes 7 Years Off Your Face

After this, you'll need to have another and maybe even another - which means more scarring, thinner skin, more surgery, more risks and more time spent under general anaesthetic. Face lifts last for around the same amount of time. Tummy tucks, the same. And what the surgeon might not tell you is that if you gain weight, or if you get thinner, your body could change completely, leaving behind additional scarring or loosening your skin to the extent that you'd need further surgery. These are things you need to know before you throw yourself into the surgeon's snake pit! 

Believe us, we're not trying to put you off something that might improve your self-esteem for years to come - but it's just important that you know all of the facts before you go!