Plastic Surgery: Benefits, Techniques, and Social Perspectives

Introduction

Plastic surgery is among the most commonly debated topics in society, with strong arguments both for and against the practice. Those who oppose it cite risks, negative effects, and a philosophical — often religiously grounded — belief in the naturalness of the human body and the idea that one should accept the physical characteristics one is born with. Those who favor plastic surgery point to either personal aesthetic preferences or, more importantly, vital medical reasons as justification for the practice.

Taking a position in this debate, this paper argues in favor of plastic surgery. The primary reason for this stance is the health benefits the practice can provide to individuals who require critical treatment for conditions that plastic surgery can uniquely address. One prominent example is breast cancer, in which breast reconstruction is among the treatments available — not only to restore the physical body of the patient, but also to address the psychological harm that breast cancer and mastectomy can cause. This paper discusses two of the most common plastic surgery operations — breast reconstruction and facelift — to demonstrate how plastic surgery is beneficial and should be accepted as a valid form of medicine.

It was in the early twentieth century when breast reconstruction began to take shape as a medical discipline (Harcourt & Rumsey, 2000). According to Harcourt and Rumsey, early procedures used skin and tissue taken from the back of the body as material for constructing a new breast; alternatively, the remaining portion of the breast itself was used to form a new one.

Breast reconstruction did not achieve widespread success during its early years and was therefore not commonly performed. A key challenge was that breast skin is sometimes too tight to allow complete reconstruction, making the creation of a new breast difficult. To address this problem, a tissue expander was developed, and as a result of this and subsequent advances, silicone implants have become a successful and widely used form of breast reconstruction.

History of Breast Implants and Facelifts

The history of facelifts, meanwhile, began in 1901 when Hollander surgically lifted a patient's face to treat a skin condition. Following this first facelift surgery, numerous modifications to the procedure were developed to improve outcomes. As noted in E-Medicine Online:

"Throughout the early 1900s, others such as Miller, Kolle, and Lexer made variations and refinements of this original description (Miller, 1906; Kolle, 1911; Lexer, 1910). Lexer is credited with suggesting that the skin flaps be dissected in a subcutaneous plane, as earlier facelifts consisted mainly of skin excision with primary closure."

Since the birth of plastic surgery, the discipline has developed a considerable number of procedures. Miranda Hitti (2005), in her study How Many Young Women Get Plastic Surgery, lists the following most common plastic surgery procedures:

Plastic Surgery Procedures and Techniques

Concerning breast implants specifically, one technique currently used involves the transfer of tissue from other parts of the body. Harcourt and Rumsey (2000) describe this process as follows: "For example, the lat-dorsi procedure involves replacing the original breast skin with skin from the back whilst the muscle of the lat-dorsi flap covers the implant."

Laser and cosmetic surgery have also become popular in plastic surgery, made possible by ongoing advancements in medical technology. Dr. Biggs, a plastic surgeon in Vancouver, Canada, shares several current techniques in the field:

"There are new ways to elevate the middle third of the face, or cheeks, through an incision of the temporal area, without having to make the incision down in front of the ear."

Dr. Biggs also notes that surgeons in the past were often hesitant to perform a combination of liposuction and abdominoplasty in a single procedure. However, new research from Brazil indicates that surgeons can safely perform concomitant liposuction alongside abdominoplasty by preserving the perforator vessels. Additionally, the increasing use of dermal fillers has been a notable development; European researchers have presented long-term data indicating that newer fillers, including Restylane, are safe and provide results lasting approximately five months.

For wounds that result from plastic surgery operations, "skin grafting" is sometimes performed to protect the wound site and prevent the formation of visible scars. There are many other procedures and techniques within the discipline; the choice of which to apply depends on the patient's preferences and on which technique is most appropriate for the individual case.

Conclusion

With the increasing discovery of new diseases that harm the human body, there is a growing importance for the discipline of plastic and reconstructive surgery within medicine. Its benefits are not only valuable to women but to men as well. For instance, breast cancer, while predominantly diagnosed in women, can also occur in men. Although research and clinical data show that women are by far the more common recipients of plastic surgery procedures, the medical justifications for the discipline are not gender-exclusive. Ultimately, plastic surgery is a legitimate, legally recognized field of medicine whose clinical and psychological benefits — particularly in the context of cancer treatment and post-accident recovery — justify its continued practice and broader social acceptance.