TV shows and gossip magazines may find them entertaining, but bad plastic surgeries are simply unfortunate, and at times, even dangerous. As their count keeps increasing, one wonders if they are actually worth all the trouble. Let’s find out.
Okay, take a quick quiz. Just close your eyes and picture the following people in their latest avatars – Donatella Versace, Heidi Montag, Joan Rivers, Priscilla Presley and Melanie Griffith. What comes to mind? Puffy lips, sculpted cheeks and a crease-free visage. No prizes for guessing how they got it.
The quest to look beautiful(?) has led many people to take extreme steps. The above mentioned names gained notoriety for botched-up plastic surgeries, as they were in the public eye. There are thousands of others who have also had similarly disastrous outings to a plastic surgeon’s clinic, only to have returned poorer, and possibly, scary-looking. It just makes you think – is there any limit to what we’d do to end up looking good?
Reconstructive surgery is not new to humans. We’ve come a long way since these procedures were first carried out in India, around 800 BC. Ever since, this type of surgery has transformed to a cosmetic procedure, from a reconstructive one. As lifestyles kept getting better, so did the average lifespan. Eventually, it didn’t take long for the emphasis to shift from being healthy, to being good-looking. Of course, there is nothing wrong with harboring desires to look attractive, but this very desire can morph into an obsession which is hard to contain.
Today, it is possible to have sculpted bodies, shapely noses, cute dimples, long hair etc., as long as you have the means to pay for it. However, it is not often that a person goes looking for the negatives of plastic surgery. Mistakes do happen, and when they do, it’s harder to get them fixed.
Isn’t Plastic Surgery Supposed to be Safe?
Surgery is, after all, surgery. It is done by humans, so there’s always a certain amount of risk attached to it. Its causes may include negligence by the surgeon, use of outdated technology, miscalculations and poor judgment, or sheer bad luck. There have been instances of patients pressurizing doctors to perform surgical procedures on them, despite being advised against it. The results of the cosmetic surgery also depend on how well the patient recovers from the procedure. Some patients develop a lot of internal or external scarring, that results in the deterioration of the skin tissues. Physically, the damage can be permanent, and in some cases, even fatal. Case in point? Surgeries need to be taken seriously by both, the patient as well as the doctor performing it.
» Actress Tara Reid confessed to have opted for liposuction to achieve a flat stomach. It left her with saggy and dimpled skin over her abdomen, which of course, was definitely not a part of the bargain.
» Self-proclaimed surgery addict Joan Rivers is a walking billboard for reasons-not-to-go-under-the-knife. Her botox procedures and surgeries have given her a face so immobile, that her smile never reaches her eyes.
How Bad Can it Really Get?
Pretty nightmarish, actually. Plastic surgery disasters may result in the person looking deformed, rather than beautiful. A facial surgery, like a bad or an overdone facelift, can result in the loss of sensation due to damaged nerves. Other implications include scarring, paralysis, deformation, infection, excessive blood loss etc. The patient may suffer from certain psychological disorders, as the whole experience can be very traumatic and embarrassing, besides, it can also lead to depression. Plus, the patient may also have to undergo another surgery to rectify the previous mistakes.
» American socialite and the ‘queen of plastic surgery’, Jocelyn Wildenstein has had multiple brow lifts, eyelid surgery, cheek implants, a facelift, lip injections, and chin augmentation in the quest to look cat-like. Her fascination for felines took her to the edge, and transformed her beyond recognition.
» Who can forget Michael Jackson’s obsession with plastic surgery, and the long-term impact it left on the late singer’s health? He was rumored to have undergone several nose jobs and cheekbone surgeries that left him looking like he used to, in his final days.
About the Emotional Scars…
A botched-up plastic surgery can leave you emotionally drained. Anything that does not match up to your expectations is bound to disappoint. Misshapen features and distorted bodies can make people feel even worse after they realize that they’ve spent precious money to look like they do. Often, the fondness for these procedures spirals into an obsession, resulting in health complications, severe stress and depression. There are some who even feel suicidal after ending up with a surgical disaster. The emphasis on physical beauty can make you perpetually dissatisfied, no matter how many times you attempt to “change” the way you look.
Although it is impossible to get a plastic surgery that is completely free of complications and side effects, its risks and dangers can at least be reduced or minimized. For this, it is essential to educate yourself well, regarding the procedure and the accompanying complications, before opting to go under the knife. Always remember that you can never be watchful enough when it comes to artificially transforming yourself.