Recently I’ve been considering having a facelift. I am tum diddily tum years old now and my face is showing signs of age, wear and tear. I would like to look younger for a while before facing looking older. Life throws us challenges and one of my many challenges has been living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder.  I have had two previous experiences of cosmetic surgery, one good and one bad.  

Psychiatrists and psychologists have created optional screening tools for cosmetic surgeons to help them assess patient risk. How would I be assessed if I turn up for a consultation with a cosmetic surgeon? Would I be dismissed as a risk? How would I be told? Would I be told at all? Would I be considered a safe bet given that I have had at least one previous successful cosmetic surgery? Would I be considered a hedge bet? How would I be dealt with if the surgeon was not sure? Would I even be assessed at all? 

If I was unhappy with my assessment, what would my options then be? Would I just go to another surgeon? If one surgeon assesses me as a bad risk, would all other surgeons then be alerted? Would I go abroad for surgery? Change my mind?  Obtain a second opinion from a psychiatrist? 

What would you do? Dysmorphia Needs A Poster Girl

I consider myself a relatively unusual case. Many cases of Body Dysmorphic Disorder consider themselves cured when they no longer see any need to make changes to their appearances. I believe that it is possible to believe that you are not ugly while also holding the view that improvements to the appearance can be achieved. Let’s say I am assessed to be a safe surgical bet and provided I find enough money, I can go ahead with my surgery. What other emotional considerations are there? 

 My circumstances are that I live alone. My mother is too ill to look after me. Many of us either live alone or prefer not to confide in friends and family about cosmetic surgery. This throws up some major obstacles. I would have to find some way of being looked after. My friends lead busy lives with their own families and may not be available for me when I am going for my surgery. My relatives are not people I keep in touch with let alone ask for help. Who would come and pick me up from hospital to take me home? Who will look after me? Who will I talk to about the experience I am going through? How can I know if what I feel is normal or typical? How can I find out what to do to ease my mind? Who is going to let me sob irrationally into my bandages or laugh hysterically at the relief from finally undergoing surgery? 

Isn’t it time everyone knew where to go to discuss these issues? 

I could hire someone to come and look after me for a few days or a day or two until I felt safe enough to be left alone. This creates additional cost. How would I feel about a stranger coming to take me home after surgery? What if they don’t speak the same language as me? What if they don’t approve of cosmetic surgery? Would they understand the emotions that I am going through? What if I thought I could cope and then found the post-surgical emotions too much to cope with alone?  This can happen to anyone whether you have Body Dysmorphic Disorder or not. Intense and unusual emotions before and after surgery are quite common. General anaesthetic can trigger periods of tearfulness, sadness, nausea , fear or even euphoria. Post-surgical depression is very real and can take any patient by complete surprise. Pain medication and post-surgical antibiotics can create moodiness. 

Every type of cosmetic surgery presents unique post-operative challenges. 

Rhinoplasty patients may have difficulty with their reading glasses. 

Blepharoplasty patients may also have difficulty with blurring and vision. 

Breast Augmentation patients may have difficulty being able to lift things (the kettle, the phone). 
Liposuction patients may have problems with specialist post-surgical garments. 

Abdominoplasty patients may have pain sitting, standing or walking. 

The problems may be physical but they have emotional knock-on effects. Isolation, fear and loneliness make for more challenging recoveries. We all benefit from having someone to help us gain perspective and keep grounded. 

Cosmetic surgery is unique because as a physically healthy individual, I am presenting myself for a surgery that will limit my activities for a period of time after surgery. This will bring up feelings of helplessness and frustration at having to ask for assistance or do without. It is important that I remain happy to ease my recovery. 

Like many other patients, I will worry a great deal in the early post-operative days about how I am going to heal and how I am going to look once I heal. Not having much to do except heal and recover leaves me with time on my hands to worry. 

Cosmeticsupport.com is a voluntary independent non-profit website offering emotional support to cosmetic surgery patients for 13 years on 14 January 2013

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