Susan is a young woman who, by way of Philadelphia, arrived months ago in sunny South Florida carrying only her luggage and three hundred pounds of extra weight. She tipped the scales at four hundred and fifty pounds back East and found herself uncomfortable with the notion of assimilating with the new "clothing optional" locals. Luckily, she had realistic expectations of what I could offer her.
Along with many plastic surgeons, I have seen her story often repeated. Her closing any way was a small more satisfying. It was one that gave me supplementary perspective on my work as a plastic surgeon.
Vanity work is only one aspect of a plastic surgeon's existence. The reality is that our bread and butter involves the rehabilitation of form and function to those most in need of surgery. Plastic and reconstructive surgeons are today assuming the role of Aesthetic surgeon as well. Although many of our efforts are focused on restoring a perceived "socially acceptable" appearance, our ultimate goal is to return the trust and the self esteem lost by the patients who have been the unfortunate victims of disfiguring afflictions and to help combat or avoid some of the embarrassment they face.
There is no question that our field has been a driving force behind the salvation and the renaissance of thousands. You need only look at the faces of a young consolidate who have a baby born with a cleft lip deformity (a facial abnormality connected to a birth defect) to appreciate our true value. Breast reduction in those with persisting back pain or breast reconstruction in those with an absence following mastectomy, are more examples of the rewards of the profession. Additionally, we restore victims of traumatic injury and often equally traumatized cancer sufferers.
Most compelling to me however, has been the plight of the post-bariatric surgery (massive weight loss through intestinal bypass surgery) patients trying to perform a perceived "normality". This procedure, whose popularity has exploded over the last half decade, is ordinarily performed on population at least one hundred pounds above their ideal body weight. Patients who have surgically lost this much weight ordinarily have resolution of most of their healing problems, but practically all the time have issues connected to excess skin and fat following the procedure. These are patients who have been subjected to years of social stigma connected to their obesity particularly in our scantily clad society.
I find them arresting because of our capability of impressively restoring their form and function. practically more impressive than the bodily or physiologic results are the psychological and social changes they experience. Relationships with family, friends, employers, and acquaintances are remarkably changed for the better.
After her victorious bariatric surgery, Susan came to me to have another fifty pounds of sagging skin and fat removed from her beasts and abdomen. The policy was a great success. Since her plastic surgery, and possibly because of it, she has had the good fortune to marry and have a gorgeous baby, both of which she had never previously imagined possible.
Our specialty has been at once characterized and caricaturized by popular culture. While we watch Nip/Tuck, ultimate Makeovers and other Tv network rating interests, our discipline of medicine has evolved to not only restore form and function, but also to facilitate a social need for youth and beauty. Dramatic changes have occurred in this field in regard to the procedural advances and the social interests that surround them. The scope and breadth of our custom continues to grow, answering the hopes and needs of many.
Lip Reduction Surgery:Nipping, Tucking and the Fountain of Youth
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