Aesthetic plastic surgery is currently very popular but it is a complex discipline, and like any surgery, has benefits but also carries risks. Even if plastic surgery is becoming increasingly accessible, the decision to undergo a procedure must be carefully thought through and not taken lightly.
So, the choice of surgeon in terms of approach, expertise, and know-how is primordial. They will be able to advise you, propose the right indication but also specify the limits of surgery, even refuse in some cases.
So what are the limits of aesthetic surgery?
Is the patient a good candidate?
You do not decide to undergo aesthetic surgery on a whim. An aesthetic surgery procedure affects the body and permanently changes its appearance. It is, therefore, important to carefully mull over the question when you are considering undergoing surgery. However, the media sometimes tends to make us believe we can do anything but it is not really the case in France. In the vast majority of cases, even in young patients, requests are coherent and target above all betterment not the reflection of a supposed canon of beauty.
The role of the practitioner is essential to prevent excess and rapidly detect requests that are outlandish or pathological, which allows the correct indication to be proposed. A procedure must be beneficial to the patient and not just in the short term.
Be aware of the subjectivity of the result
Put yourself in the hands of a surgeon to change or in any case beautify your physical appearance is no trivial matter. It is necessary to understand that as experienced and talented as they are, the surgeon does not hold the key to your inner happiness. The result of a procedure will always be objective and subjective.
Of course there are objective criteria defined by medicine but beauty differs depending on the perception of each individual, which is influenced by their culture, their country, their history, and their approach to aesthetic surgery.
Be aware of the variability in healing
A procedure is carried out on living tissue and the healing process cannot be controlled. It is, therefore, possible that the post-operative course does not progess as desired by the surgeon and the patient. This is particularly true for a rhinoplasty but any scar is likely to progress unsatisfactorily and may subsequently require revision with a touch-up of the final result.
Be aware of the physical limits of the procedure
Several physical factors may be a contraindication to a procedure. You may be too young or too old to undergo a procedure, or the physical condition of the patient may be a limiting factor (heart or pulmonary conditions, coagulation disorders, obesity…). In some cases, a habit like smoking can be a contraindication to elective surgery.
Aesthetic surgery is not a substitute for therapy
To treat a request, it is important to understand the patient as a whole, taking into account mind and body. Not forgetting body memory; it must be possible, to a certain extent, to help patients become aware of their bodies and above all ensure that the patient has a healthy relationship with their body. The job of the surgeon is complex and they must be able to hunt down what is hiding behind a request to dismiss more particularly cases of body dysmorphic disorder.
They must also identify patients who tend to think their problems (lack of self-confidence, romantic or professional failures, etc.) are caused by these defects and that a procedure, like waving a magic wand, will solve them all without the expense of more constructive therapy. This is true for adults and adolescents.
A procedure must boost well-being and self-confidence, not the opposite. The patient and their surgeon must be able to talk openly, with mutual confidence, and have a coherent, well-defined project. As such, the consultation is an essential step.
What does a consultation with Doctor Rajao involve?
We ask a lot of a plastic surgeon: expertise, precision and know-how, artistic flair, and psychological insight. The practitioner must enhance and restore beauty naturally while remaining humble and ethically irreproachable. Aesthetic surgery always requires several consultations. The first is of course essential.
During this consultation Doctor Rajao will ask you questions to rule out any contraindication and listen to your reasons. After a clinical examination, she will give you a file containing information about the operation: organisation, benefits, risks, recovery, healing, etc. You will also be given a detailed quote.
For your part, you can ask absolutely any questions that come to mind. Doctor Rajao will clarify certain points if your request is unclear but also reassure you. Moreover, she can decide that the procedure is not indicated or recommend psychological help. A procedure is a success when the patient feels that the defect has been properly repaired, corrected, and experiences physical, aesthetic as well as functional and psychological comfort and well-being.
Sometimes considered as futile, aesthetic plastic surgery is on the contrary extremely complex, demanding and, like any medical procedure, has its limits and challenges.
Although the approach involves restoring harmony and ensuring reconciliation between our inner and outer self, plastic surgery is not always the answer to everything.