Plastic surgery had undergone some changes of its own

CHERRIL DOTY

“Ask any question you’d like. About anything. I’ll do my best to

answer. And if I don’t know the answer, we’ll try to find out

together.”

The group of 14 adolescent girls was gathered in a half circle in

front of me. I could almost hear the wheels turning in their minds. I

anticipated. The first question would, of course, be about sex. It

almost always was in this situation.

Jessica, black eyes sparkling, raised her hand just a bit while at

the same time blurting, “What does it feel like to have wrinkles?”

Huh? Not only had I never had this question posed to me before, I

had never thought of it myself.

There was a collective gasp followed by chastising voices. Jessica

seemed to shrink just a bit before straightening and saying, with

some apology in her voice, “I just wanted to know.”

My hands reached up to my face. What did it feel like to have

wrinkles? I found I didn’t have the answer for Jessica -- then or

now.

A chance remark by a client sparked this memory the other day. She

posited that there seems to be a greater incidence of plastic surgery

procedures among young people today than in the past. I wondered if

Jessica’s 16-year-old concern with wrinkling had been some precursor

of a trend.

For most of us, whether we like it or not, our physical appearance

influences how we see ourselves and how others see us, too.

Adolescents are often seen as most vulnerable to the effects of

appearance on self-image, but it extends through all ages. Many of us

change the way we look through diet, exercise and more. Plastic

surgery is one of the ways we make changes.

Plastic! Why this term? I started with the dictionary. Plastic,

from the Greek plastikos, meaning to form, mold or create. Among its

several definitions was that the adjective plastic means “capable of

growth, repair, or differentiation (a plastic tissue).” Plastic

surgery is noted as the branch of surgery concerned with repair or

restoration of “lost, injured or deformed” parts of the body,

especially by transfer of tissue.”

In today’s usage, however, the term plastic is often used as a

derisive term denoting superficiality. No wonder those who perform

the surgeries have changed over to using the gentler term “cosmetic

surgery.”

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery offers the

statistic of 8.5-million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical

procedures performed in 2001. This was a 304% increase from

1997-2001, with the top five procedures being lipoplasty, eyelid

surgery, breast augmentation, nose reshaping and face-lifts. Baby

Boomers aged 35 to 50 had the most procedures performed (44% of the

total) while the 19 to 34 age group had 22%.

Updated statistics were released in 2002 and showed that, overall,

the numbers were down for cosmetic surgery. The reason for the

downturn was given as economical. On further study, there was a

slight upturn in both the Baby Boomer group and the 19 to 34 age

group in surgical procedures, while non-surgical procedures had

fallen off.

While there is a general increase in cosmetic surgery -- both

surgical and nonsurgical -- over the past 10 years, I could find

nothing pointing directly at the younger generation to account for

the rise. It is more likely that it is about acceptance of plastic --

or cosmetic -- surgery than any great decrease in self-image among

any particular age group.

As is often the case, while no definitive answers were found, the

search did lead to some interesting facts. No matter what one’s

feelings on cosmetic surgery -- and 55% of Americans approve -- it

would have to be argued that some good medical research is a

by-product. Techniques have improved for the all-important

reconstructive procedures done on abnormal structures, usually caused

by congenital or developmental defects, trauma, infection or disease.

Fat from liposuction is being studied as a source for stem cells.

Most important, perhaps, to Jessica, the American Society for

Aesthetic Plastic Surgery expects significant strides to continue

forward in reduction of wrinkles.

Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out just what it feels like

to have these wrinkles. Life itself just feels too good to spend much

time with the question. I hope they say to the world that I laugh a

lot, love a lot and just plain live a lot. That’s good enough for me.

* CHERRIL DOTY is a creative living coach, writer, artist, and

walker who lives and works in Laguna Beach. To schedule a coaching

session or to comment, contact her by e-mail at emmagine@cox.net or

by phone at (949) 251-3993.