Plastic surgery etc. to defy age

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Rant warning....maybe someone in the biz can enlighten me but what the he!! is happening to all the old women in my town? I'm in a fairly affluent area with lots of retirees and omg their skin looks like tissue paper with an expressionless stoma for a mouth. Is is surgery, sandblast dermabrasion, botox, lip fillers? All the above? :scrm: These are trim, healthy what used to be very attractive age appropriate women and now they look like freaks. Not a wrinkle on their face but sheesh they are pulled so tight its a miracle they aren't sporting a gootee.

I have a women in their 30 in my class who planned to get breast surgeries to land the doctors,I always think "I think you should change a face first,then think about the boobs.LOL

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Insurance does not pay for cosmetic surgery. They WILL pay for bariatric surgery if you have exhausted other reasonable means of losing weight. Several dear friends of mine have undergone this type of surgery- and it's not easy to get the insurance to pay- they had truly tried to lose weight by conventional measures- as part of the requirements they also had to have a psychological evaluation- something some of these 18 yr olds getting breast implants for their boyfriends should perhaps be required to do. When it's COSMETIC it's self-pay- nothing 'required' other than the desire to change one's looks. If you ask me weight loss surgery is a chance to give you a longer lifespan- better heart health, less chance of other obesity related diseases. It is a lifestyle change too- NOT just a surgery that changes their looks- they have to follow the recommended eating guidelines- a little different than abdominoplasty or liposuction. This is NOT plastic surgery altho plastic surgery is often done AFTER the weight loss if one wants to get rid of the loose skin which can be quite substantial.

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Specializes in tele, oncology.

I don't understand the people who take it to extremes (although certainly what is extreme to one may well be just the beginning to another).

But I can guarantee you that if I won a million dollars tomorrow, right after I paid off my student loans and bought a new car and new house, I'd be on the phone to a plastics guy. I even know who I'd call already :)

I don't want the entire body back that I had when I was 18, I just want that little pocket of mommy belly sucked out. I had hernia repair surgery done not long ago and am still excited that I have my innie belly button back after years without it. And after breastfeeding two kids, and getting saggier and losing two cup sizes in the process, I would love to have those back to some semblance of what they used to be! I don't care about the laugh lines, I've learned to live with my freckles, and the gray hairs don't bother me as much; the butt and thighs are fine too. But oh, to be able to wear a bikini without worrying again would be so nice!

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Incorrect.

I have had 2 nieces in their early 30's get the Lap Band last year, They got it cuz they were both overweight, neither were on any type of medication, They got it done to loose weight and look better.

Had a male friend I went to college with, He had the Gastric Sleeve about 8 months ago. He has went from 270 to 190 and he looks good, He had no medical condition, On no type of Medication, He got it to simply loose weight and look good.

This is my defintion of Plastic Surgery............:icon_roll

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery

Considering this is a nursing board, In my opinion medical definitions should be used not personal opinion from a consumer. Bariatric patients do not need to be labeled as medical unnecessary or medical appropriate . Being Morbidly Obese is a medical condition and the leading cause of preventable death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity

Your niece and friend if treated at a certified center had to be morbidly obese which is a medical condition and NOT done for cosmetic reasons. If they were counseled correctly they know this was the reason Bariatric Surgery was done. Please do not confuse the two.

Bariatric Surgery is performed for medical reasons not cosmetic reason although the results may result in a better looking body.

So either your family and friends were treated by incompetent plastic surgeons or you have a misunderstanding of what plastic surgery is.

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Specializes in acute rehab, med surg, LTC, peds, home c.
overall, i think plastics to reverse the aging process, is a bunch of nonsense.

but braces as a kid?

if poor dentition is going to affect a kid's self esteem, and even his willingness to smile, to me that's huge...

and braces would be necessary.

leslie

What is the difference if it is crooked teeth or sagging boobs affecting someone's self esteem? If you have the means to change it, why not? The only thing stopping me is my fear of going under the knife. When it gets bad enough I may just go for it but I'm not quite there yet.

Does anybody know the best way to get rid of varicose veins? I know they have new technology out there but I'm not sure what it is.

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Insurance does not pay for cosmetic surgery. They WILL pay for bariatric surgery if you have exhausted other reasonable means of losing weight. Several dear friends of mine have undergone this type of surgery- and it's not easy to get the insurance to pay- they had truly tried to lose weight by conventional measures- as part of the requirements they also had to have a psychological evaluation- something some of these 18 yr olds getting breast implants for their boyfriends should perhaps be required to do. When it's COSMETIC it's self-pay- nothing 'required' other than the desire to change one's looks. If you ask me weight loss surgery is a chance to give you a longer lifespan- better heart health, less chance of other obesity related diseases. It is a lifestyle change too- NOT just a surgery that changes their looks- they have to follow the recommended eating guidelines- a little different than abdominoplasty or liposuction. This is NOT plastic surgery altho plastic surgery is often done AFTER the weight loss if one wants to get rid of the loose skin which can be quite substantial.

You are so right, to be a certified bariatric center you have to provide a complete medical program with a team. Sad that people don't understand that concept. But the source is not a nurse or a medical profession and doesn't understand morbid obesity and the need for weight loss. My lay people are ignorant what morbid obesity is and how to treat it.

To be a Bariatric Center you must prove evidence that you follow your patients for life .

As a Breast Cancer Survivor, I was offer Cosmetic and Re constructive Surgery by a Plastic Surgeon it was covered by insurance 100%. My appearance may have looked better but the intent was not to improve my appearance but to replace what cancer took away.

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I might add that bariatric patients have to have documented proof from a Dr. of their weight loss attempts- it has to be over a period of time - not something you just decided to schedule one day. It is a decision that takes years to arrive at after other measures fail.

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I used to say - when I was in my 20's - that I would never have a face lift or other cosmetic surgery.

The I got a little older and noticed a few things. Aging doesn't just involve getting a few wrinkles here and there; instead, there are lots of bodily changes that start as early as one's thirties. Once I became aware of this, I no longer judged people who had or planned to have cosmetic surgery, and I certainly won't rule it out for myself (especially since I have 4-year-old twins and don't want to look like their grandmother!)

As long as people are aware of the risks, can afford it, and are doing it for themselves, I say go ahead and have the plastic surgery that will make you feel better about yourself. There is nothing wrong with that, is there?

DeLana

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What is the difference if it is crooked teeth or sagging boobs affecting someone's self esteem? If you have the means to change it, why not?

Exactly

Bottom Line is the end effect of Plastic Surgery is to help one's apperance and improve confidence

Bottom Line......

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I might add that bariatric patients have to have documented proof from a Dr. of their weight loss attempts- it has to be over a period of time - not something you just decided to schedule one day. It is a decision that takes years to arrive at after other measures fail.

That may be the way it looks on paper and probably the rule of thumb, and the way it is suppose to happen.

But in reality, You can go online and fill out some paperwork and some personal information and go see a Doctor on Weight Reduction Surgery.

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You are so wrong- I over see a Bariatric Program. I have attended intensive training and review actual patient charts so my information is not hear say or second hand evidence. The criteria is difficult to qualify and many patients get turned away for not meeting the criteria. This includes a pysch exam and many preoperative visits. The criteria is evaluated by ABS and the ACS were the charts are reviewed often there is very little wiggle round if any.

Redranger is a plumber not a nurse, so perhaps putting it in plumbing terms will help him to understand that morbid obesity is a disease and that you really never know what a patient goes through unless you are on the front line. The only people I have had access to a complete medical record have been myself, my father ( once medical power of attorney was established) and my children when they were minors. My point being unless he was a power of attorney to his college friend and nieces those medical records are not available to him and he is basing his comments on his non medical observations.

In plumbing terms it would be like me saying having a big gas leak or water leak was cosmetic improvement to my home since all I had to do is call a Plumber and the end result is my home looks better verses an update my bathroom plumbing or putting in a new kitchen sink which would be plastic surgery to a plumber. The gas leak or burst water pipe is to a plumber what a Bariatric Surgeon does fixes a problem that left unattended will have horrible consequences.

I think we all assume that people who post here are nurses but a post from a non medical person with faulty information is a great opportunity to educate people who are medically ignorant and correct wrong misconceptions.

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Plastic surgery is at the far end of the spectrum of what many of us do to look better.

At the extreme ends of the looks and maintence spectrum are the scarily overdone and the people who really let themselves go. Extremes meet, and both look worse than the average person.

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