Research Paper

Should non life-saving situations be banned from plastic surgery due to the health problems patients may face?

Nowak, Rachel . "When Looks Can Kill." New Scientist 21 Oct 2006: 18-21. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. Edina High School. 8 Dec 2008 http://www.sirs.com/.

Rachel Nowak is New Scientist's Australasian editor and her job is to make sure that the top Science news from Australia and near is heard all around the world. In this specific article "When Looks Can Kill." Nowak analyzes researcher's studies on the risks of certain plastic surgery. The main concern is the high risk of suicide from women who undergo cosmetic surgery. One study found that "women who recieve breast implants are two to three times as liekly to kill themselves as those who have not." Reasons of this include drug and alcohol abuse more likely in patients as well as BDD disorder and women's brain chemistry altered from leaking implants. However, Nowak states that many of these studies have not been proved 100% accurate, so many surgeons and researchers dismiss the "assumptions". One factor that also could contribute to the high risk of suicide is women's peronality traits and/or disorders that are not obvious to surgeons. One thing that Nowak states is "Some surgeons say if a patient elects to do it, shouldn't i go ahead? My answer is: You as the surgeon can elect not to do it." This article describes some of the issues of cosmetic surgery in the world today.