To Cut or Not to Cut?

This morning when I logged on to check the news, I read this article:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/978047/beauty-queen-dies-after-plastic-surgery

A 38-year-old former Miss Argentina, has died over the weekend from complications resulting from cosmetic surgery, friends say.

Solange Magnano, Miss Argentina 1994, a married mother of eight-year-old twins went under the knife on Thursday at a plastic surgery centre in the capital city Buenos Aires.

She was rushed to the hospital on Friday suffering from a pulmonary embolism and died on Sunday, her friends said.

And an Australian example:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/plastic-surgeon-who-operated-on-melbourne-woman-who-died-vows-never-to-perform-liposuction-again/story-e6frf7jo-1225794847465

An inquest on Lauren Katherine James, 26, of Kew, heard she died three days after having liposuction on her thighs and buttocks and after complaining of severe pain, large blisters, diarrhoea and constant bleeding.

Despite repeated, urgent calls made by her boyfriend, Simon Dal Zotto, to doctors and the after-hours contact number at the Centre of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery in North Caulfield, Ms James died in the hallway of her Kew home, leaving a trail of blood and after two teams of paramedics at the scene were unable to revive her.

I am horrified that women, seemingly healthy and attractive women, feel the need to alter their appearance so much that they would dice with death in this way. Disfigurement and birth defects I can always justify as reasons for radical cosmetic and sculptural changes. But leaving two small children behind because you want to make your butt smaller?

Here is an another article that sheds some light on other deaths over the past five years: http://www.qondio.com/death-by-lipo-plastic-surgery-deaths

So I ask you all: What do you think? Would you ever seriously consider plastic surgery? And if so, under what circumstances?

I'll go first.

Again, I am horrified that death can still result from these surgeries in modern times but, as with all surgeries, there is obviously an element of risk that some people are prepared to accept. I'm just not one of them. There have certainly been times in my life that I have thought I would like some sculpting. But I have never, and cannot envisage ever actually planning this type of radical change.

Plastic surgery? I don't even wear makeup.

Any surgery is dangerous. Anesthesia is dangerous. Having surgery causes your body trauma. Trauma can result in death. That's why you sign away your life before you enter the operating room.

I've watched TV shows that show various kinds of surgeries. Lots of cosmetic surgeries are way more violent and invasive than having a Caesarian section to delivery a baby.

As a person who looks nothing like a model, I have to come to terms that my body will never look like the airbrushed pictures. We need to appreciate our bodies, despite the fact that we keep looking at others and compare ourselves.

And stop feeling sorry when life isn't going our way.

Now, even saying that, would I ever undergo cosmetic surgery? If I could afford one thing, I may. I'm not going to save my pennies, I'm not going to do the Octomom deal, working to have whatever medical procedure done. But if the money ever came to be, after I took care of my needs and those around me, I may consider one thing. It's still under consideration, because I don't like the way the procedure is done, and if I get back into shape, I may not need it.

Do I need it? Probably not. I'm not going to die if I don't get it done. I don't plan on being paid for my looks anytime down the line. Will it make me feel better? Probably not for the weeks of recovery. I may be talking myself out of it now.

It's hard to tell someone they don't need surgery when they are constantly battling the way they look at themselves and how others look at them when they felt 'at their best'.

Another problem is that once you get surgery, you have to keep it up by getting corrective surgeries, which can become addictive.

As much as L.A. is known for their surgeries, there are probably more done in South America than anywhere else in the world.

If we didn't put so much pressure on the look of people's butts (which to me is the most disgusting part of the body anyway) or other parts of the body, if we didn't judge people by the way they looked, if we watched movies and shows with 'regular' looking people, the desire to have such surgeries would be lessened.

I don't want to watch shows with regular looking people. Much. I do watch game shows and documentaries.

I love looking at whales and elephants and rhinos and hippos and lions and tigers and bears and mountains and glaciers and flowers and waterfalls. But I have no desire to look like any of those things.

I need to lose weight, but I'm too lazy. I'd love to be about 6-8 inches taller, but I'm not into that kind of pain and agony. (Yes, there are procedures to make you taller.) My parents think I'm fat. My daughter thinks I'm fat but pretty. I can live with that.

While I do think that we should learn to embrace our looks and bodies and age gracefully, I think that is only true to a point. As someone who feels invisible to the opposite sex because of her body, I'm perfectly willing to undergo what I need to (as minimally invasive as possible) so that I can feel comfortable in my own skin. This is actually very timely because I'm in the process of looking into this actually.

Anyway, my point is, I'm not trying to make myself perfect. However, if what you look like makes you feel bad about yourself (as it does me), then that, in and of itself, lessens the quality of life. Therefore, why not fix it if you could?

We can all say that the world should just accept us as we are, but the reality is, it often doesn't. This is an image conscious world.

I applaud those who are comfortable with themselves just as they are. I'm just, unfortunately, not one of those people who is comfortable with herself....yet.

On a lighter note, when I saw the title for this thread, I wondered if it was going to be about circumcision!

I think the USA and a few South American countries have the most warped ideas about beauty than all other countries.

I also wondered if this thread was about circumcision, specifically Gerry's, whether or not.

I thought the same about circumcision, but not anyone's particular. I was reading something recently about it, so I thought it was going to be discussed here too...lol

Heard this on the morning news. Wow.

6 New Jersey Women Hospitalized After Botched Butt-Implant Injections

March 8, 2010 3:48 p.m. EST

Ayinde O. Chase - AHN Editor
Newark, NJ, United States (AHN) - Six New Jersey women have undergone treatment in area hospitals after receiving buttocks-enhancing injections...with material typically used to caulk bathtubs.

The women were apparently administered a diluted version of the nonmedical-grade silicone by unlicensed providers. After falling ill, the women were forced to undergo surgery and receive antibiotics .

In published reports, Steven Marcus, medical director of the state Poison Information and Education System, said the silicone was "the same stuff you use to put caulk around the bathtub."

Health officials have notified nearby hospitals and doctors to be aware for other potential victims.

Medical professionals say using over-the-counter silicone can cause abscesses that resemble a large acne blemish.

No arrests have yet been made.

The TV news asked a doctor about this. He said tub caulk isn't sterile and causes infections. Doctors doing repairs to those women are going to have to DIG out all of the caulk. All of those damage body tissues.

Those women are going to have holey butts.

I still don't get the butt thing.

Nothing good comes out of it. I get grossed out when people even mention it.

I'm lucky to be curvacious, but not butty. Hips don't lie.

Putting caulk in your butt gives a whole new meaning to the term "hardass".

If they want to shove something in there, they should follow Gerry's example and use Krispy Kremes.

Krispy Kremes go straight to my tummy. I have no butt. Sitting for a long time actually hurts me. I have no intention of internally increasing my butt size. I'm not too proud to sit on cushy cushions.