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Surgeon outlines reasons to add facial cosmetic procedures to practice
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KOLOA, Hawaii — A growing demand among baby boomers for aesthetic enhancement, the hard-wiring of humans to appreciate facial beauty and the natural programming of people to see different facial features as attractive were among the many reasons given for ophthalmologists to consider adding the treatment to their practice.
It is okay for people to look after their appearance, said Jean D. Carruthers, MD, FRCS(C), FRC(OPHTH), during Subspecialty Saturday here at the Hawaiian Eye 2007 meeting. In addition, there is a need for aesthetic enhancements to be viewed from a scientific perspective and not just a marketing one, she said.
"There are 300 wrinkle creams on the market and not one of them has any scientific validity. We should approach cosmetic enhancement from a scientific standpoint," Dr. Carruthers said.
To validate the need for external beauty, Dr. Carruthers cited studies showing the benefits of external appearance, such as one by Al Kligman showing that people who look after their appearance live longer on average. She also cited studies showing that ugly infants are ignored in comparison to more attractive sibling, the attractive are disciplined less at home and at school. Also, in a telephone booth study people waiting to use the phone did not disturb attractive phone users as much as unattractive phone users.
She said the enhancement of appearance improves self-esteem, improves cardiovascular health, improves survival, improves quality of life of those close to us and should be a source of joy and not guilt and shame.
"The challenge for the 21st century is how to live with acquired beauty and to bring forward its validity in the context of our aging yet energetic and vital population," she said. "The face is the center of the cosmetic universe."
Within the baby boomer population, Dr. Carruthers noted that women are living on average 8 years longer than men, which increases the competition for older men and increases the number of both men and women striving for better appearance.
Dr. Carruthers quoted psychoanalyst John Gedo who said in 1960 that cosmetic procedures are no different to altering character traits by psychoanalysis or taking psychotherapeutic drugs.
Cosmetic surgery gives people the option of living with "sags, bags wrinkles, creases, hanging jowls, sallowness, dyspigmentations, dry, rough feel, neoplasms, telangiectasias vs. smooth soft, tight, uniform, glowing eminently touchable skin," Dr. Carruthers said.