Wednesday 28th November 2012: The History of Surgery- beginning

The History of Plastic Surgery

Did some research to find out when plastic surgery began

I found that:

1. It is older than you would think
2. Nose reconstructions performed in India as early as 2000BC when amputation of the nose was considered to be an accepted form of punnishment
3. Surgical procedures were noted in Sanskrit texts (sushruta-sam-hita) which was written in approximately 600BC
4. In India, reconstruction of the nose was done using tissue from the persons cheek bones
5. Aside from this, most modern procedures only date back to the 1880s and 1890s
6. Cosmetic surgery came into popularity in the 16th century alongside the renaissance alongside the epidemic of syphilis (the STD) which would cause disfigurement meaning that nose rebuilding

Could be interesting to use this information within my essay.

www.ast.org/publications/Journal%20Archive/2009/11_November_2009/PlasticHistory.pdf

Tuesday 20th November 2012: About America and Surgery

Facts about America and Cosmetic Surgery

In 2010 Americans spent nearly $10.7 billion on cosmetic surgery procedures

Of that:

• $6.6 billion was spent on surgical procedures
• $1.9 billion was spent on injectable procedures
• $1.8 billion was spent on skin rejuvinating procedures
• $500 million spent on other non surgical procedures (laser hair removal and laser leg vain treatment)

Now

I need to do research into what these are

Shown in this post

 

How does this help my project?

Knowing facts and figures will be used as evidence in my essay.

This shows that people are continuing to have surgery and so is proof that it is worth it

www.cosmeticplasticsurgerystatistics.com/statistics

Friday 16th November 2012: Male Surgery

Today I did some research into mens cosmetic procedures after finding out that around 10% of cosmetic procedures are carried out on men which is a tiny amount of procedures. Because it is such a small number I am interested to know the procedures used and to see whether or not this is "real" cosmetic surgery or, again, for vainity.

(Darren Lyons had body contouring to add definition to his 'abs' to create a 'six-eight pac'. Sadly, he looks ridiculous. What a stupid idea!)

In 2011the top 5 cosmetic procedures for males were:

• Nose reshaping (rhinoplasty) links to Jennifer Anistons nose jobs in this post
• Eye lid surgery
• Ear pinning
• Liposuction
• Male breast reduction (moobs)

Now:

An interview with a 'moob' reduction patient to get a bigger insight into the procedure and why men have it done.

On this post

www.nhs.uk

Tuesday 13th November 2012: What is Cosmetic Surgery?

I have researched Cosmetic Surgery

To do this I have been on the NHs website.

"Cosmetic surgery is often carried out to change a person appearance in order to achieve what they percieve to be a more desirable look"

Again, this links back to the theme of vainity. The definition on the National Health Service Website suggests that, more often than not, people have cosmetic procedures in order to enhance their appearance so that they look better.

"However in certain situations cosmetic surgery is needed for functional use"

This suggests that occasionally vainity is not always the reason for cosmetic procedures.

An example of this is women having breast reductions used to alleviate back or neck pain.

Now

I need to find an interview or report or anticle (etc) regardimg someone who has had a breast reduction in order to alleviate back or neck pain

Whether or not it helped

And if it was worth it!

This will be in this post

www.nhs.uk

Saturday 10th November 2012: Surgery Facts: Top 5, Increase/Decrease

Found out more facts regarding surgery in the United Kingdom

• In 2010: 38,274 cosmetic procedures were carried out
• In 2010: 90% of the cosmetic procedures were carried out on women

This is interesting as it shows that almost all of the cosmetic procedures were carried out on women suggesting that women, being the main users, are only in it for vainity. They are only having cosmetic procedures in order to make themselves look better as opposed to "REAL" surgery which would be for people in occupations such as the army where they would need surgery to correct disfigurements.

How does this help my project?

Vainity. This will be one of my main focuses within the essay which I am going to do and so the facts will enable me to have evidential proof that many people are having surgery for this reason rather than when they actually NEED a procedure- like army soldiers.

FACTS

• In the past 15 years (as of 2011) the number of surgical procedures had increased by 197%
• The top surgical procedures of 2011 are:
• 1- Liposuction
• 2- Breast augmentation
• 3- Abdominoplasty
• 4- Eye lid surgery
• 5- Breast lift
• In the past 15 years (as of 2011) the number of non surgical procedures had increased by 356%
• The top non surgical procedures of 2011 are:
• 1- Botox
• 2- Hyaluronic acid
• 3- Laser hair removal

NOW

I need to find out what all of these procedures are and what they do

Also, the costs

Also, perfhaps interviews and/or reports of people who have had these procedures

Find out why they did it

Find out if they think that the result was worth it

Maybe talk to surgeons and to see if they think it is worth it

all on this post

www.nhs.uk

www.surgery.org/consumers

8th November- Draft email

I am going to email some professionals so that i =Ican get a professional opinion and use this as evidence for my arguments.


Dear ...

I am doing an extended project qualification about plastic surgery where I’m trying to come to a conclusion of whether or not it is worth it or not. The way I plan to come up with an answer to the question is to look at all the advantages and disadvantages of plastic surgery from a variety of different viewpoints.

Because of this, it would be really useful if I could ask you some questions that would help to form another opinion which I can use as evidence in my project and could help come to a conclusion.

I’d really appreciate it if you could email me back,

Thank you for your time

Yasmin Francis

I think that explaining what I am doing in the email is a good idea and informing them of the reasons for the questions would give them a greater inscentive to answer them honestly.

Tuesday 6th November 2012: Amount of Procedures

Today I was researching facts regarding plastic surgery which I could use as evidence in my EPQ essay. These facts were about the rise of cosmetic procedures.

 

IN THE PAST 15 YEARS, THE NUMBER OR COSMETIC PROCEDURES IN THE UK HAS INCREASED BY 197% FROM 2.1 MILLION PROCEDURES IN 1997 TO 9.2 MILLION IN 2011.

 

This shows that more and more people are chosing to have cosmetic procedures, surely showing that it is worth the time and cost. However, from these numbers I do not know the amount of people who were happy with their results and the number of people who were unhappy with their results.

 



How does this help my project?

It is clear that cosmetic surgery is becoming ever more popular

This could mean that people who have had procedures and are pleased with the results will go back for more or people are wanting to change their appearance more often. If people are wanting to change their appearance this would mean that they are unhappy and to change would make them feel better within themselves making them more confident and make them feel as though the procedures were definitely worth it.

 

www.surgery.org/consumers