Dangers and Alternatives of Cosmetic Surgery

Introduction:

Cosmetic surgery is preferred by women who feel they have lost their beauty and want to regain or modify it. There are popular cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, blepharoplasty, lip augmentation, etc. Besides enhancing individuals' beauty value, these surgeries have plenty of risks. Yet women go for it as the perception of beauty nowadays has modified, and pressure from their peers forces them into these surgical procedures.

What Are the Types of Cosmetic Surgeries?

The surgical procedures are as mentioned below:

Face and neck:

• Brow lift.

• Buccal fat removal.

• Cheek augmentation.

• Chin surgery.

• Eyelid surgery.

• Ear surgery.

• Facelift surgery.

• Facial implants.

• Neck lift.

• Rhinoplasty.

• Thread lift.

Body lifts:

• Arm lift.

• Body contouring.

• Thigh lift.

• Abdominoplasty.

• Buttock enhancement.

Breast region:

• Breast augmentation.

• Breast implant removal.

• Breast lift.

• Breast reduction.

Fat reduction:

• Lipoplasty.

• Laser or ultrasound-assisted liposuction.

What Are the Disadvantages of Cosmetic Surgery?

Addiction: Some individuals keep finding faults in their bodies and believe that undergoing cosmetic surgeries would help them look good. In such cases, a successful cosmetic surgery will make the individual get addicted to it and wish to undergo those procedures continuously. The significant risk is that repeated cosmetic surgeries may damage the skin and muscles.

Failure to Meet Expectations: Cosmetic surgery success depends on the individual's expectations. An individual needs to have realistic expectations of feeling satisfied and confident after the procedure. So anybody planning the surgery should gain knowledge about the process and its benefits and complications to avoid disappointments.

Mistakes Can Happen: Although technology has advanced, minor mistakes can happen during the surgery, damaging any surrounding tissues and causing complications.

Recovery Period: The time required to recover from the procedure is too long. Depending on the procedure performed, it may take around three to four weeks.

Choosing the Expert: Since the surgery will change an individual's overall appearance, it is crucial to choose the right and experienced surgeon for the procedure's success.

Depression: The individual might feel insecure until they recover from the procedure. It takes time for them to adjust and adapt to the changes made by the surgery.

Expense: Cosmetic surgeries are expensive, making them inaccessible to most individuals.

What Are the Dangers of Various Cosmetic Surgeries?

The complications for various cosmetic surgeries are:

Facelifts:

• Bleeding.

• Poor wound healing.

• Facial nerve injury.

• Prolonged swelling.

• Scarring at the site.

• Asymmetrical deformities.

Breast Augmentation:

• Breast pain.

• Infection.

• Change of sensation in breast and nipples.

• Breast implants may distort the shape when scar tissue is formed.

• Hematoma.

• Delayed wound healing.

Lip Augmentation:

• Bleeding and pain at the side of the injection.

• Infection.

• Asymmetrical lips.

• Discoloration of the lips.

Liposuction:

• Fluid accumulation.

• Infection.

• Numbness.

• Irregular contours.

Rhinoplasty:

• Nosebleeds.

• Difficulty in breathing.

• Asymmetrical nose.

• Scarring.

What Are the Alternatives to Cosmetic Surgery?

Cosmetic surgeries have been advertised to produce better cosmetic results in recent times. However, non-invasive cosmetic treatments are also found to have similarly better results with minimal risks. The alternatives to cosmetic procedures are as follows.

• Lip Injections Alternative to Lip Implants: Though there are various options to fill the lips with lip plumping serums and over-lining with lip liners, they last only a few hours. So surgeons recommend using lip implants, a permanent option to enhance their lips. However, these procedures require a lengthy recovery period, leading to complications. So lip fillers are the best and safe alternatives to lip implants. The procedure involves the injection of hyaluronic acid directly into the lips. A topical agent is applied over the lips before the injection to prevent pain during the experience. And another advantage of the procedure is it is reversible and can be brought back to normal when results are not found satisfactory.

• Laser Treatment as an Alternative to Neck Lift: The signs of aging are often visible in the neck showing a sagging appearance and a double chin. The best cosmetic surgical procedure to treat the neck is a neck lift. However, it takes a longer time to recover and would lead to face aging if only the neck is treated. So the alternative option preferred is a laser neck lift. Applying a laser to the neck stimulates collagen production, smoothens, and tightens skin. Lasers are good at treating premature aging of the neck for jowls and undefined jawlines. The results are instant, and the procedure is painless, requiring no recovery time.

• Coolsculpting as an Alternative to Liposuction: Liposuction is a procedure of choice to eliminate stubborn fat, which cannot be reduced further by diet and exercise. Liposuction can remove fat from the abdomen, thighs, calves, back, and buttocks. Significant liposuction complications are usually due to inexperienced professionals, which can cause uneven skin, infections, and embolisms. So a safer alternative to liposuction is cool sculpting. This procedure involves applying a controlled cooling effect over the skin, which targets, freezes and crystallizes the fat cells, which are eliminated naturally by the kidneys in urine.

• Botox as an Alternative to Face Lifts: Every woman wishes to have smooth, tight skin devoid of wrinkles and fine lines. To achieve this, the best surgical option would be a facelift. However, a facelift would result in scarring and other health complications. There are also chances of facial nerve damage during the procedure. So alternate non-invasive methods are best to undergo. One such non-invasive procedure is botox injection. Botox helps treat the fine lines and wrinkles on the skin by paralyzing the muscles responsible for the wrinkles.

Conclusion:

The main concern about these cosmetic surgeries is that besides carrying positive effects on the individual's health, it brings many risks. If people chose to be optimistic about their bodies, the rate of these surgeries would have been low. Furthermore, giving less attention to the person’s appearance would probably improve the perception and self-confidence of the individual, thus stopping the individuals from surgery options to enhance their beauty.