Abstract

Aesthetic plastic surgery has become extremely popular. It could be due to an increase in demand by consumers. Some view aesthetic plastic surgery as a solution for issues in their lives. It doesn’t help that media attention focuses on youthful appearance and sexually desirable physical attributes.

The abuse of ethical principles in plastic surgery has become more noticeable, especially where the mental and emotional state of the patient is a concern. At what point does a surgeon determine when a patient is displaying signs of addiction to plastic surgery? How does a surgeon respond to a patient who displays evidence of body dysmorphic disorder? Body dysmorphic disorder is a condition in which a patient perceives flaws that do not exist, and wants them corrected.

First source:

Teven, C. M., & Grant, S. B. (2018, April 01). Plastic Surgery’s Contributions to Surgical Ethics. Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/plastic-surgerys-contributions-surgical-ethics/2018-04

The first source is an article, Plastic surgery contributions to surgical ethics, by Chad M. Teven. This article discusses many ethical concerns on plastic surgery. As the demand for plastic surgery is increasing day by day, it has also led to novel and distinct ethical challenges. According to the article “Due to the diversity and complexity of cases treated, plastic surgeons are often confronted with significant ethical challenges. Common plastic surgery ethical dilemmas include: weighing the risks and benefits of and obtaining informed consent for elective cosmetic surgery in otherwise healthy people, devising a moral strategy for marketing aesthetic surgery, considering a fair price to charge for services not covered by insurance, and addressing concerns about identity and the risks of immunosuppression when considering facial transplantation”. The concept of plastic surgery is involved with ethical dilemmas. Many of which risks the health of the patients.

This source is important to my research because it discusses some of the moral principles that were violated due to the concept of the plastic surgery. This article also discusses the possible complexibility that a plastic surgery patient would face.

Second Source:

Lane, M. (2018, April 01). Ethics and Plastic Surgery’s Legacy of Transforming Impossibility into Innovation. Retrieved from https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/ethics-and-plastic-surgerys-legacy-transforming-impossibility-innovation/2018-04

The second source is an article, Ethics and plastic surgery’s legacy of transforming impossibility into innovation, by Megan Lane. This article talks about new innovations that were made through plastic surgeries. The article mentions paul Cederna who is the president of plastic surgery foundation. In one of the speech Cederna said “goal is to give back what was lost—we strive to do the impossible. And many times we achieve that goal”. As members of a diverse specialty that does not claim particular disease processes or areas of the body, plastic surgeons—from Harold Gillies use of staged reconstruction to restore the faces of veterans, to Nobel laureate Joseph Murray’s completing the first successful human kidney transplant, to the advent of hand transplantation have historically defied what was thought to be surgically impossible.” This article reflects the pride and honor a plastic surgeon feels after accomplishing one of the impossibilities.

Unlike the first source which talks about moral issues concerning plastic surgery, this article rather talks about the modernization of surgery. This article is important to my research because it gives an opposite viewpoint of what I have been doing my research on.