Life Change Thanks to Plastic Surgery

It is often necessary for people to put their lives on hold when they are battling cancer, obesity or injury. They may have to leave their jobs (at least temporarily) and spend time away from their homes and loved ones while they undergo surgeries and procedures to resolve health issues. Even when their medical undertakings are one-hundred percent successful, patients often also have to deal with variations of disfigurement. For the cancer patient, this may mean a missing breast or damage to another area of the body. For someone who has had bariatric surgery to address obesity, it can mean excessive loose skin, especially if the patient is older and has lost skin elasticity. And for someone who has had an injury, it may mean unsightly scarring resulting from an emergency procedure not attended to by a cosmetic surgeon. Obviously, disfigurements following on the heels of ongoing or drastic health challenges can take a toll emotionally.

Plastic surgery to address physical flaws resulting from life-saving medical procedures can be a major component in what many plastic surgeons (as well as life coaches) call a “life makeover”. A life makeover in the medical world indicates a commitment to reject bad health habits and esteem-lowering attitudes and start anew. Just knowing that plastic surgery has the tools to relax and alleviate flaws, while biochemical events are doing their part to heal tissues and organs, can be enough to brighten the attitude of most any patient who has been “through the wringer” and set them on a course toward personal transformation.

Breast Cancer Reconstruction Surgery is one of the triumphs of plastic surgery and often the starting point for a life makeover for someone who has had breast cancer. Working with oncologists and oncology surgeons, plastic surgeons can offer patients a number of options for either immediate or delayed breast reconstruction surgery. Revision surgery can even include procedures to recreate nipples and areolas.

Bariatric surgery (which alters the stomach or digestive tract to minimize caloric intake) in itself offers patients a new lease on life, but reconstructive surgery thereafter for patients who have stabilized their weight can induce a true life makeover. Post-bariatric reconstruction programs are highly individualized and usually begin with Liposuction and include variations of Body Contouring procedures. Like breast cancer reconstruction surgery, post bariatric reconstruction can be performed in one operation or can require revision surgery over time.

Surgery to address accidents and injuries, or Laceration Repair Surgery is best performed at the time of the emergency procedure, but while plastic surgeons make it their business to be in touch with local ER surgical teams, sometimes it just isn’t possible. Nevertheless, knowing cosmetic surgery is available can be a great comfort to someone who has been through this kind of trauma. Patients are amazed to learn that not only skin but also muscle and bone can be transplanted, often replete with their own blood supply, through microsurgery, to alleviate flaws resulting from injuries and accidents.

Most patients who have undergone health challenges and need plastic surgery will want to work with plastic surgery centers that include spa facilities and/or wellness centers. This may sound frivolous for someone who has suffered through serious illness, but the fact of the matter is that the best plastic surgery organizations offer pre-and post-operative guidance (including diet regulation, colonics, lymphatic drainage massage, and more) that can expedite the healing process significantly—on both physical and emotional levels.