Contents
Iga operated on her slightly humped nose because her boyfriend was laughing that she looked like a witch. Another girl compared her nose to an elephant’s trunk, and she became obsessed with corrective surgery. More and more people decide to correct their beauty, but for the exceptionally sensitive, plastic surgery brings traumatic effects.
- The aesthetic medicine doctor should check the patient’s motivation. Make sure that he or she has no mental disorders and that his decision is well thought out
- Iga succumbed to the boy’s persuasion and operated on a slightly humped nose, which she liked
- After the surgery, her personality changed: from hit and dynamic, to withdrawn, quiet, insecure. Depression developed, there was a suicide attempt
- Today Iga warns: carefully consider the decision about plastic surgery. The changes are irreversible and can be fatal, even if the doctor has done everything according to art
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
«I can’t go under the knife, I think I’m depressed»
Iga hates herself for her appearance. This is surprising, because the 26-year-old looks almost perfect. He has an oval face, pale eyes with dark eyebrows and long eyelashes, neatly cut lips, slightly protruding cheekbones. Nose not too big, not too small, slightly upturned, shapely. And it was this nose that became the problem.
—Before plastic surgery, he was different, slightly humped. But it didn’t bother me at all, quite the opposite. I thought that thanks to him my face has an expressive character and is a perfect complement to my temperament. I was full of me everywhere, I was involved in various school activities, I was the head of the class and the tutor of the year at university. When I met my boyfriend everything changed – says Iga.
—You are ugly as night, your nose is as humped as a witch. Operate – he constantly urged. She explained that she did not want to, that she was not ready. She felt uglier and uglier. She was crying. —I remember we were in bed then, and he pressed us for surgery as usual. “I can’t go under the knife, I must be depressed”, I told him time and time again. He replied: “You make it up,” recalls the girl.
The visit to a reputable aesthetic medicine doctor was short. Beautifying nose correction was not a problem, he stated. The hump can be eliminated, and at the same time it will correct Iga’s slightly bent septum.
12 million plastic surgeries a year
It is estimated that around the world every year about 12 million plastic surgery procedures and more than twice as many aesthetic medicine procedures are performed. Poland is not lagging behind in these statistics: every year around 500. fellow countrymen of both sexes decides about plastic surgery.
Some of them want to go under the knife out of necessity in order to restore their “normal” appearance: reconstruct the breasts after mastectomy, restore the undeveloped auricle, eliminate burn scars. The second group of patients are those for whom surgery is not objectively necessary, but want to improve their appearance: enlarge the buttocks, lips, breasts, make a “radiator” on the stomach, rejuvenate with a facelift.
– In each case, the aesthetic medicine doctor should check the patient’s motivation. For many reasons. First of all, to be sure that the person deciding to undergo the procedure has no mental disorders. And what is equally important, to make sure that the decision is well-thought-out and not made under the influence of third parties – explains plastic surgery specialist, Dr. Katarzyna Stelczyk, MD.
After the operation, she stared in the mirror for hours, seeing a stranger there
Dr. Stelczyk recalls a patient who stubbornly repeated all her life that her nose was as large as that of an elephant. No translations reached her — she really saw herself in the mirror. Of course, she really wanted this allegedly long and huge nose to be operated on. However, the procedure did not guarantee that the perception of her own beauty would change. A psychiatric consultation was necessary to free the patient from intrusive thoughts about her nose. The case of this woman was so difficult that the psychiatrist even suggested a sham operation. Unfortunately, it did not help. Dysmorphophobia is an extremely difficult disease to cure – adds the specialist.
The patient affected by this disorder is inadequately and exaggeratedly preoccupied with an imaginary or minor body defect. Before he goes to a psychiatrist, he tries to treat his problem at a plastic surgeon. At Iga’s, who finally succumbed to the boy’s persuasion and had her nose operated on, the psychiatrist also suspected dysmorphophobia.
After the operation, the girl cried incessantly. For hours, she stared into the mirror, seeing a different, stranger there. Her personality has changed: from hit and dynamic, to withdrawn, quiet, insecure. She spent her days on forums, reading posts by women after treatments. What’s more, the boy did not like Iga’s new nose.
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– I landed in a psychiatric hospital four times – she recalls. – First time in three months. One time my boyfriend visited me. “I see that you are still crying, you are not working on yourself, you are tiring me,” he said. I started stockpiling drugs. During the leave, I bought alcohol and drank pills. But they saved me. After that, he said, “You’d better never wake up.” And he dumped me.
The decision to operate must be independent – it is a one-way ticket
Plastic surgeons have basic psychological knowledge, but sometimes it is not sufficient to diagnose possible mental disorders.
—Patients are sometimes surprised that consultations in my office last not 10 minutes but an hour. They are also surprised that I ask them carefully: what is bothering them with their appearance? What are they reporting for? Is it out of your own need? Or maybe under the influence of a husband, partner, friend? I always tell them that the decision to operate must be independent, because it is a one-way ticket. There are no miracles, you will never return to the state before the surgery – warns Dr. Stelczyk. And he adds that in the case of a crooked nose, surgery leads to a positive change, but at the same time may disturb the sense of self-identity, as the patient lived for many years looking differently.
Before a plastic surgery, every surgeon is obliged to explain what he will do, with what technique, what the convalescence will look like and possible complications. All issues are also included in the contract that must be signed.
—The patient must confirm that he / she understands the changes to be made and accepts them. And nose corrections are one of the most difficult ones, because this part gives the face character and draws attention the most. You should also remember that many people who have plastic surgery on the nose are dissatisfied with the result and regret having had it. Unfortunately, any corrections always carry a greater risk of failure – explains Dr. Stelczyk.
For the psyche, the changes can be fatal
– I’m getting used to my new, completely different face. I am undergoing psychotherapy, I am taking antidepressants. I urge everyone who wants to correct their nose or undergo any other plastic surgery to consider their decision carefully. Because the changes can be fatal for the psyche, even if the doctor does everything according to art – warns Iga.
Dr. Stelczyk adds that if beauty correction is not your own decision and is made at the instigation of third parties, it is worth talking to someone you trust. – And certainly in a plastic surgeon’s office you should demand a computer simulation that will show a new look. Even if it does not give the effect of the treatment one hundred percent, you can print this image and look at it, start to get used to it – the doctor advises.
The name of the text’s heroine has been changed
You may be interested in:
- Plastic surgery – what is it and how does it help?
- Face lifting – types of facelift, description of treatments, effects
- Psychiatric consultation – when is it worth using?
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