“why did i wait so long? ” over my many years of highly specialized practice i have heard that comment very often nearly word for word. patients can procrastinate and delay having elective procedures because their need is not related to serious medical illness or dangerous consequences. if you broke your arm you would need an orthopedic surgeon to set the fracture. if your appendix burst you can’t dilly-dally and put off having a general surgeon perform your appendectomy. but cosmetic plastic surgery is always elective. what that means is that you “elect” to have it done when you want to have it done by whom you want to have it done and how you want to have it done. it is all a matter of choice — not necessity. however what we have learned from patients is that often they waited too long. they could have enjoyed the benefit of the surgery much earlier. one patient said “for years i didn’t like my nose and i couldn’t breathe through it. why i waited so long to have it corrected makes no sense. ” another patient who was having the chemical skin peel a non-surgical process to permanently remove wrinkles age spots and other facial imperfections said “all these years i spent a fortune on makeup and skin treatments both prescription and non-prescription and they didn’t do a darn thing. i should have just gone ahead and had the right procedure done. ” here are the five most common reasons people delay defer and procrastinate: 1. they have more pressing issues in their life. certainly a sick child a divorce or a parent who needs help are reasons that come first. 2. finances. not everyone has the discretionary funds to do it at a given point. often there is a right time and a wrong time to do it depending on how much money you have in the bank. i never recommend doing cosmetic elective surgery with “your last dollar. ” 3. patients have an unrealistic fear of anesthesia. today anesthesia is safer than ever. cosmetic elective procedures are done under very light anesthetic techniques with rapid recovery and very little chance of nausea and vomiting. 4. “i was always afraid of what i would look like. ” well that shouldn’t be a mystery. with computer imaging you can see the predicted results of your procedure on a computer screen even yours at home. and if you have seen surgical results that don’t look right to you just don’t go to the surgeon who showed you those results. if patients look unnatural over-done with a too-tight face lift or an overpinched and scooped nose just stay away from that doctor. 5. “i was afraid of what other people might think. ” to me that is a weak reason. you do it for yourself. not for your parents not for your friends not even for your spouse. you do cosmetic plastic surgery because you want it.
when is the right time for elective plastic surgery?