Erase in your mind what you thought you knew about plastic surgery. Take the term itself – most people picture actual fake plastic, but ‘plastic’ originates from the Greek work ‘plastiko,’ meaning to form or to mold. There are many more myths and misconceptions about plastic surgery, and we’re here to dispel the top 5:
Myth #1 – Plastic Surgery is scar-free – Due to medical advancements, procedures can be performed with increased precision and smaller incisions, reducing scarring, but all types of plastic surgery will generally cause some type of scar formation. Plastic surgeons are experts at making scars look better, more refined and smaller, but all types of plastic surgery will cause scar formation. Surgeons can recommend the best ways to minimize scarring and give advice and treatments on how to make scars look as good as possible after surgery.
Myth #2 – Plastic Surgery Patients are the rich and famous – If plastic surgeons only operated on the 1%, we wouldn’t have a thriving plastic surgery industry. Most aesthetic patients are not the rich and famous, but are average people who simply wish to restore confidence, enhance their overall appearance and improve their lives. Procedures are not only safer, but more affordable.
Myth #3 – Liposuction is an effective way to lose weight – Although liposuction involves removing fat from the body, it’s designed to remove fat from trouble areas. For a healthy person with excess fat in a specific area, liposuction may work well. It removes 10 – 12 pounds, at most. Weight loss through liposuction is site-specific, it allows you to target areas like love handles, whereas going to the gym is overall weight loss.
Myth #4 – Cosmetic surgery is the same as plastic surgery – Because plastic surgery entails a repair or enhancement, almost any procedure has a cosmetic element, but the names are not equivalent. Cosmetic surgery is practiced by doctors from a variety of medical fields, yet a plastic surgeon must undergo special training and be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Certified plastic surgeons are capable of performing both cosmetic procedures and reconstructive procedures to correct for both form and function. Unlike cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery focuses on repairing and reconstructing abnormal structures of the body caused by birth defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease.
Myth #5 – Plastic surgery gives people an over-operated appearance – The goal of any plastic surgery procedure is to subtly improve a person’s natural beauty. Skilled surgeons, like Dr. Jeneby, are specially trained and have extensive experience in producing results that do not appear extreme or overdone.
