Cosmetic surgery is a very popular avenue for personal enhancement, as demonstrated by the 11.9 million cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S. alone in 2004. As for any operation, cosmetic procedures involve risk, and should therefore not be undertaken lightly. Within the US, critics of plastic surgery note that it is legal for any doctor, regardless of speciality, to perform "cosmetic surgery", but not "plastic surgery". It is thus important to distinguish the terms "plastic surgery" and "cosmetic surgery": Plastic Surgery is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (the only official entity overseeing physician certification in the United States) as the subspecialty dedicated to the surgical repair of defects of form or function -- this includes cosmetic (or aesthetic) surgery, as well as reconstructive surgery. The term "cosmetic surgery" however, simply refers to surgery that is designed to improve cosmetics, or appearance.
How much can you enhance your appearance using cosmetic surgery?
This patient desired several changes in his facial contour. In two operations, the surgeon performed infraorbital rim (lower eye socket), paranasal (bones lateral to the nose), malar (cheekbone), and mandibular body (lower jaw) augmentation. In addition, the patient had a midface lift, lateral canthopexy (to change the shape of his eyes), and rhinoplasty.
Implants at the site of the patient's infraorbital (eye socket) rim, malar (cheekbone), paranasal (bones bracketing the nose), and mandibular body (lower jaw) were fixed to his skeleton with titanium screws. His rhinoplasty is represented by dotted lines. The surgeon directed the patient's eyes upward by performing a lateral canthopexy. This procedure involved suturing the tendons at the lateral corner of the patient's eye to his orbital rim.
Various implants in the face:
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Before and after pictures of the surgeries:
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