What motivates your patients to have cosmetic surgery?

Posted November 4th, 2016

Over the past 18 years I have had the privilege to consult with and then operate upon innumerable women seeking facial plastic surgery.

One of the more fascinating and important trends I’ve witnessed over my time in practice has been the increasing comfort my patients feel in sharing their aesthetic surgery with friends and family. When I first opened “shop” in 1998, the typical  patient went into hiding for weeks after their operation and religiously kept secret that they had gone under the knife.

Since then, there’s been an immense  relaxation of such intense privacy and today many of my cases are referred to me by satisfied customers who have shared their experience with their community. Half of new consults arrive with friends or family members in tow. While nearly all patients express anxiety, their fears center on avoiding an “overdone appearance”. They are focused on outcome, not embarrassed about “coming out”. There’s an atmosphere of joy in my office, a celebration of the wonders aesthetic surgery can have on self esteem and a sense of wellness.

In my experience, individuals most often decide to have aesthetic surgery because they feel their faces no longer reflect their inner selves. Despite ample sleep, joy, and exercise, patients complain their eyes have grown tired and angry appearing with age. They are not trying to look younger, but instead wish to restore vibrancy and energy, the “close the gap” between how they feel and how they look. Just like a set of crooked teeth motivates people to visit an Orthodonist, eyelid bags, wrinkles and sagging skin lead a subset of the population to engage surgeons like me.

There’s no question, one’s sense of wellness and rises after surgery. And, there’s no question the vast majority of men and women seeking facial plastic surgery do if for themselves, not for spousal approval or acceptance in the job place.

Caring about One’s appearance is not a new phenomenon but the ability to adjust our looks is. After the words we say, our faces are our next most important communicators. When our faces no longer communicate how we feel, the imbalance motivates some to have surgery.