Health risks associated with plastic surgery - Essay Example

One expert physician skilled in plastic surgery offers the risks of rhinoplasty, which involves surgery to correct or restructure the nose. These risks include ongoing bleeding from the surgery site and “serious nasal blockages caused by swelling of the nose” (Essig, 2008, p.1). Many of these health risks are temporary, however they can have long-lasting repercussions on the patient at the emotional level if the procedure does not reproduce the aesthetic look they desired. From a physiological perspective, these health risks can include lifelong problems with nasal breathing caused by improper nose adjustment.

Rhinoplasty is especially popular with youths, who generally tend to rely on their youth peers and advertisements for beauty when making decisions as to whether to explore this procedure. One critic of cosmetic surgery for youths offers, “look in the back of any teenage magazine and you will see pages of adverts for surgery offering to correct every imperfection, however slight or even imagined” (McCartney, 2007, p.10). The method by which these procedures are marketed to youths pose considerable health risks of many different varieties as these advertisements play on youths’ needs for looking beautiful and are willing to provide services without proper consultation or health risk assessment.

“There are even examples of clinics across Europe offering to do cut-price multiple cosmetic procedures on special offer” (McCartney, 2007, p.10). In this case, cosmetic surgeons are using promotional materials to elicit offers for these procedures to youths who are ill-equipped, at the emotional level, to understand the potential mental and physical risks. Even though these procedures may be carried out using state-of-the-art technology and superior process, the potential emotional damage caused to youths who are just now