Celebrities are notorious for spending thousands of dollars each time they get breast implants or a nose job.
Yet such procedures are also common among the general population. Americans spent $12.4 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2005, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, or ASAPS.
Many factors contribute to the increasing number of people who turn to cosmetic surgery, and particularly to the increasing interest among college students.
According to the ASAPS, 11.5 million cosmetic surgeries were performed in 2005, double the number in 2000. That figure does not include the number of reconstructive procedures.
The two different forms of plastic surgery are cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, which involves correcting physical disfigurements such as cleft lips, said Dr. James Bradley, chief of pediatric plastic surgery at the UCLA Cosmetic Surgery Center.
“Cosmetic-surgery patients look normal but want to achieve an even better look,” Bradley said.
“Reconstructive surgery patients look below normal and want to attain that level of normalcy.”
Some cosmetic-surgery patients seek to resemble others and come into doctors’ offices with names of celebrities they want to look like.
Others want to stand out.
But they all have the common goal of bringing change to their lives, and college is a prime time for such change, said Deborah Levinrad, the UCLA Cosmetic Surgery Center coordinator.
“The three top reasons why young adults come in (are) to boost their self-confidence, to be more competitive in the professional world and to find a mate,” Levinrad said.
A physical change can lead to improvements in social and business life, which Bradley said he observed in a UCLA graduate student he worked with.
Bradley said the patient, who got ear surgery, attributed the success in his life to the surgery.
After the surgery, he landed a great business job and was in a relationship with a friend whom he had never had the confidence to ask out before, Bradley said.
“I remember him coming to me eight months ago with long hair covering his face to hide his ears,” Bradley said. “A few months after, he confidently walked in with his hair short. Confidence is such an important thing that cosmetic surgery can provide.”
Young people in Los Angeles have twice as many surgeries as those who live elsewhere because of the emphasis on diet and exercise, the beaches and, most importantly, the media, Levinrad said.
“Every channel you flip to, you see the red carpet,” Levinrad said. “It’s all about beautiful bodies and there’s a lot of pressure to look beautiful and thin.”
In 2005, the 19-to-34 age group composed 24 percent of all people who had cosmetic procedures, according to ASAPS.
Ear surgery, nose jobs and breast augmentations are the cosmetic surgeries most popular among college students, Bradley said.
Michelle Kim, a second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said she is not surprised that many college students want to get cosmetic surgery. She has seen many young patients come into Beverly Hills Dermatology, where she is an intern, to enhance their looks.
“College is a time when you start looking for jobs and planning out the rest of your life,” Kim said. “Image is a big part of success, so college students have a lot of pressure to put out a good image so that they’ll be successful in life.”
The popularity of television shows such as MTV’s “I Want a Famous Face” and FOX’s “The Swan” has brought attention to the idea of plastic surgery, but these are not necessarily accurate portrayals of what the process is like, Levinrad said.
“It’s distorted ““ surgery isn’t what it’s like on TV,” Levinrad said. “Most surgeons don’t do multiple procedures like on the MTV show, and the shows don’t show the downtime.”
Other misconceptions about cosmetic surgery stem from extreme cases of bad surgeries, Bradley said.
“You might see those people in restaurants who have noses that look plastic, but those are rare cases,” Bradley said. “Good plastic surgeries are the ones that no one would know were done because they look so natural.”
People interested in cosmetic surgery can do research to learn what it is truly like.
Getting two or three consultations and finding a board-certified surgeon are crucial things patients must consider to get the look they want and to have minimal operation risks, Bradley said.
“The surgeon and patient have to be on the same page or else the results won’t be ideal,” he said.
Board-certified surgeons have at least eight years of practice and training.
Contrary to what most people believe and fear, cosmetic surgery, especially after years of technological advancements, entails little risk, Levinrad said.
“For a young, healthy person, there (usually) aren’t complications,” Levinrad said. “At worst, there may be a blood clot, but that can be detected and fixed immediately.”
With advancements such as the endoscope ““ a less-invasive camera ““ and lasers, less skin and tissue is cut, which dramatically reduces the amount of time needed to recover, Levinrad said.
Besides reducing the occurrence of adverse complications to procedures, these technological advancements have played a role in increasing the amount of interest in cosmetic surgery.
As people become more educated on these aspects of cosmetic surgery, the public’s perception of it is changing, Levinrad said.
The stigma attached to cosmetic surgery deters people it because of what their friends and family may think, Kim said.
“There is a negative connotation because it may be that they are being vain and that they are obsessed with superficiality,” Kim said.
But in a 2006 survey conducted by ASAPS, 55 percent of women and 52 percent of men said they approve of cosmetic surgery.
Cosmetic surgery is more than a surface-level change; rather, it is a balance of internal and external enhancement, Bradley said.
“The littlest things can be the most important details to someone,” Bradley said. “And if a change in these details can boost confidence and lead to self-improvement, then it should be done.”