Cosmetic surgery is more common than you'd think

By Seth Quillen

December 10, 2004 | Christy was a typical high school student she had A's her entire life. She excelled in many areas and was active in school activities. She was a cheerleader and had a steady boyfriend. But the pressures of school life and the desire to look like everyone else weighed on her shoulders and that was the last place she wanted it to be. Christy decided after graduation she would make the change. And head to college with C's. 34 C's to be exact.

Christy got a boob job.

"I was flat and all the girls on the cheerleading team were not," said Christy who is now a senior at USU studying psychology. "I didn't necessarily need to fit in but it was always on my mind."

Her boyfriend discouraged it and thought she should be happy with her body. He did, however, approve of the results even though he stuck to his claim that she didn't need it.

"My mom has smaller chests as well and we would always talk about it and she supported me when I asked for them for graduation," said Christy. "And she talked to my dad about it, I wasn't going to go there, actually he was cool about."

Christy is part of the growing popularity of the cosmetic surgery industry. 2003 was a record breaking year in the United States for the plastic industry. More than 8.7 million procedures were performed on people who decided to fight signs of aging or enhance their appearance by cosmetic surgery. That's about equal to the population of Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska and both the Dakotas.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), that number was up 32 percent from nearly 6.6 million in 2002, the number of surgical procedures grew by 5 percent, while minor procedures jumped 41 percent over 2002. This past year's growth may be attributed to the attention plastic surgery received from the entertainment industry, which spotlighted plastic surgery and perhaps, created a larger interest from the public.

Reality television success has branched out to virtually every aspect of human life. And cosmetics surgeries programs have not been left our, they have flooded the airwaves with such fairy tales as the Ugly Duckling turned Swan on FOX, Cinderella's ballroom Ambush Makeover and Beverly Hills Dr. 90210.

"I like The Swan because it goes into so much more than just surgery, they actually help the people emotionally and physically," said Christy.

Emotional wellbeing of people who decide to make surgical changes to their body is a concern to doctors. Many doctors suggest counseling before a procedure, to make sure a person is mentally stable.

"If there are other issues involved and breast surgery is just one thing out of a lot of other concerns, a young girl should seek some form of counseling as well." said Dr. David S. Thomas who practices cosmetic surgery in Salt Lake City. "And they should go to counseling to make sure it's not just emotional insecurities that resolve themselves, if it's just embarrassing a breast job won't solve it. She'll grow out of that."

Women made up 82 percent of those who had cosmetic plastic surgery. The most popular procedures among women were liposuction in 2003, followed by breast augmentation, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery and facelift. The men's top five cosmetic plastic surgery procedures for 2003 were nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, liposuction, hair transplantation for male-pattern baldness and facelift.

The 35-50 age group made up 40 percent of all cosmetic plastic surgery with liposuction being their most popular procedure. People 19 to 34 made up 26 percent of cosmetic surgeries, and nose reshaping was their number one procedure. For patients 51 to 64, who made up 24 percent of cosmetic surgeries for 2003, eyelid surgery was the top procedure.

Even though older people make up the majority of cosmetic surgeries, "there is no specific age as long as a girl is emotionally mature and pretty much physically mature," said Dr. Thomas. "But if a young lady who is obviously not going to grow and be flat her whole life if she has insecurities about being small there's no reason she should not go ahead with the surgery."

The overall top five surgical cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in 2003 were nose reshaping (356,554), liposuction (320,022), breast augmentation (254,140), eyelid surgery (246,633), and facelift (128,667).
Christy said it does not necessarily make her happier, rather more confident. And feels that "If you can change it, change, it will make you feel better it's worth it," said Christy. "And if you get them, your husband will be very happy."

MK
MK