Last year, a husband and wife team were sued when a patient complained that he could no longer sexually satisfy his partner after a penile insertion procedure. Now, it’s Vicki Belo’s turn to be sued. The complainant underwent a non-surgical procedure called Thermage to smooth out her wrinkles but got a deformed face, ugly scars and dark marks instead. Who’s to blame, really? Doctors like Belo who advertise and market procedures that titillate the vanity in each of us? Or is it the fault of the patient for not paying attention to the cliche that “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
Right, medicine isn’t just about saving lives or enhancing the quality of life anymore. Side by side with developments in science, medicine has redefined what enhancing the quality of life means to include procedures to satisfy vanity. Breast augmentations, penile insertions, collagen and botox injections, tummy tucks, face lifts, breast lifts — none of which has anything to do with treating an illness or saving lives — are performed by doctors.
It is even more curious how doctors have diverted from the intended uses of certain medical procedures to make them more profitable. Where collagen used to be for treatment of burn victims, it is now a “treatment” to remove wrinkles. Botox, derived from Botulinum toxin, the most toxic protein known, is injected to paralyze facial muscles and make wrinkles less noticeable.
And newer procedures are developed everyday. More money is being spent in research because it has become an undeniable fact that vanity translates to billions if not trillions. Businesses and entire industries are floundering right and left but the cosmetic industry seems untouched. People will pay to look good. If girdles, make-up and night creams can’t do the trick anymore, they are willing to pay doctors to alleviate their suffering for having lost their youthful looks and sexual prowess.
That is what it really all boils down to — men and women who cannot face the truth about ageing, and savvy doctors and pharmaceutical companies who play up their paralyzing fear of growing old. So, we have men whose erection last no longer than two minutes all screaming for Viagra and penile insertions. And we have women with thick waistlines, sagging breasts and wrinkle-lined faces lining up for liposuction, tummy tucks, breast lifts and collagen and botox injections.
Why not? With doctors prescribing the medications and performing the procedures, what can be safer? There’s that belief — that faith — that anything going wrong is one chance in a million if qualified doctors rather than hacks perform the cosmetic procedure. With a sick patient especially one on the verge of death, that faith is relevant. But for a patient who simply wants to defy nature by seeking to remove twenty years off his or her looks, it’s quite another thing. And never mind the pain, the discomfort and the expense. Only the results matter.
And there’s the rub right there. What happens when the results turn out to be different from what the doctor promised and what the patient expected? What happens when side effects develop? Last year, it was a man who did manage longer erections at the price of painful sexual intercourse. This time, a woman who did get rid of her wrinkles at the expense of developing scars and dark marks on her face. And it’s just too tempting to say if they had just let nature taken its course, and accepted the fact that being middle-aged is not the same as being a teenager, they would have been happier.
But, of course, that’s not very profitable for cosmetic dermatologists and surgeons. So, they insist that there is a psychological angle to all this — that making men and women more attractive is in fact a way to enhance their lives because it boosts their self-confidence and self-image. Does it? Or does it merely temporarily bury their insecurities and make them dependent on drugs and cosmetic surgery?
My grade school teachers couldn’t have foreseen all this when they said that doctors treated sick patients and saved lives. That was what we were told when discussions wandered to what we wanted to be when we grew up. Very idealistic, indeed, but very much sanitized too. Just like their definitions of other professions — lawyers defended the innocent so they wouldn’t land in prison, architects and engineers built houses and buildings, and teachers molded the minds of the youth.
Innocence of an entire generation?
My daughters have gone though career talks in their school and I wonder if they have been told that lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers and teachers do other things too. I wonder if they’ve been told that lawyers also circumvent weak and vague laws to get guilty clients off the hook. Sometimes, they even go into the law-making business and write laws that benefit themselves, their businesses, their colleagues and their businesses. I wonder if they’ve been told that many school owners were once bright-eyed teachers but who opted to get into the business side of education, putting up schools with whimsical curricula that help justify horrendous tuition fees. I wonder if there’s been any mention of the role of architects and engineers in the horror story called the Manila Film Center. And I wonder how the medical profession is explained nowadays with so many med school graduates opting for non-life saving specializations like cosmetic dermatology and surgery because that’s where the money is.
There’s nothing wrong with going for cosmetic surgery, either as a profession or receiving patient. The market’s been there all along, it just went into overdrive in the late 90′s. I agree at first it was only to help accident victims, but that industry didn’t need much marketing tool to entice “other” clients.
I believe that as a customer, whether I went in because I was vain or I was really suffering from some trauma, I should get my money’s worth. If they botched the job, they should pay.
Some people with inferiority complex do get a boost of confidence. And for me, cosmetic surgery is a great for people who have money to spare. It’s not very Christian, it’s a waste of money, but afterall it’s their money, their body and their pain.
The only negative aspect that I do feel strongly about is abuse. Some girls I know are showing signs of addiction na at sa Pinas ito ha. Almost every year they have something done! I also know of people getting loans just for this, that’s what I will consider a waste of money. If you cannot afford it and you’re not fugly anyway, why be in debt?
Over here, almost all publications have some sort of advertisement for nip-tuck. Most glamour girls take out loans to get boob jobs, but they see it as investment. May ROI after they get hired for porn & lads mags.
You might be interested in this. Very recently an ad in the London Underground trains were being defaced for being “sexist”.
The girls in the pictures are actual patients and they’re not happy about it, who would be?
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23644620-details/Protesters+target+%27sexist%27+cosmetic+surgery+adverts/article.do
I think the biggest cosmetic addiction in the Philippines is nose job. And I honestly think that unless a patient wants a nose job to solve a nasal issue, then he should see a shrink instead to get his head straight about self-image and self-esteem.
I ahve a co-worker who got a nose job and I’ve noticed she keeps on sniffing ever since I met her, everytime she speak, she had to “singhot”, so I asked her best friend if she is always sick, the best friend revealed to me that she had a nose job and the side effect was she have to singhot,
and just recently my co-worker had a blepharoplasty, for the upper and lower lid, masyadong matapang ang facial features niya, after the surgery, nagmukha siyang matanda at nawala yong original personality niya
Hi Connie. I was just thinking about this, how it seems to be so difficult for so many people to accept age (old age) these days. There’s an obsession with looks, eating, and going under the knife. I know these things are advertised by the media and made even more popular by celebrities. But, there’s something else. The media will always say “40 is the new 30″ or “50 is the new 30″. It will always play upon our vanity but it’s really up to the people to buy what’s being said, and people do buy. We see the obsession. Perhaps, most of us are really not so intelligent as we’d like to think we are. It takes real intelligence not be swayed by these things and covet what everyone else covets.
Re “Perhaps, most of us are really not so intelligent as we’d like to think we are.”
Yep. And savvy marketers, media included, are exploiting the gullibility of a lot of people.
The models used by cosmetic surgeons also set the high expectations. I mean, can you really expect that a 40 something woman would look like Katrina Halili after the surgery?
Hehehe What’s that movie with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn? They drank this elixir given by the devil? Some cosmetic ads so remind me of that film.
Children are taught with idealism. So, they hope and dream of better future. However, reality is filled with frustrations and rat race lifestyle.
I can’t fault a person how one spend his/her own money. Beside the issue that one works hard, everybody deserves to enjoy as a form of reward. If the guy have that penile implant he paid for it, in the same way as the woman paid for the cosmetic procedure she wanted.
The global world lives in consumption. There are slew of arguments on consumerism. But the government and its economy thrives on it and therefore encourage it. To protect the consuming public, there is law on contracts as well as malpractice.
People don’t settle for less anymore as in “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Corporate world demands improvement. And so the current culture of enhancements. Better for the economy with expanded application of medicine, increased insurance and lawsuits.
For me I just liked the innocence of the children because they live in peace.
Like auee, I don’t judge people opting for these procedures. It’s their face, body, and money. I wouldn’t go through it myself because while I’m kind of (LOL) happy with what my Mama gave me, I just can’t take any more pain after laboring for 2 babies, hehe. What I have a problem with, as I slightly intimated in the Kate Winslet post, is the effect on young girls. The low self-esteem on young girls these days is at an all-time high. Plastering all these botox, nose jobs, weight issues, etc is not helping at all. Maybe they should increase more in promoting exercises. Move instead of sitting on your butt playing video games all day. Serve healthy options for kids at school. OR, parents who would actually talk to their young daughters the real nature of beauty and that looks can only get you far. Having the brains, independently standing on their own, defending oneself, and gracefully dealing with life as decent as they possibly could should be their main focus.
I must point out though that some women get breast augmentation for health reasons. I know women who had to go through this procedure because it hurts the back having to carry all that boobage.
Dex, today’s women were young girls once who were exposed to all media hype. You know, raised in the age of Twiggy. So what you’re saying about today’s young girls, well, when they grow up, does it become okay because it’s their bodies and their money?
Re the last paragraph, that’s breast reduction and I agree that it has legitimate health benefits.
It may not even get that far if our children are raised intellectually and the parents have very good influence. This is where the first 18 years of parenting counts. So when our kids become adult they can make intelligent choices and spare the parents from the shameful indignities. Because there is no amount of force whatsoever we can do once these young kids in the future will exercise their freedom of choice.
Anyway, we brought up this subject with our nephews and nieces. So we told there was a kid who came home from school so sad and his feeling was terribly hurt because his classmates had been teasing him for his dark skin and curly hair comparing him to his parents who are not. So he finally asked his mom why he has very dark skin, curly hair and potato nose and, if he was truly their son since he cannot ever imagine that he looked very much different from them. The mom realized it was the right time to tell his young son, “Son, I am sorry not to tell you sooner but your dad is Michael Jackson”.
Ahay precious memories, those kids were bursting in laughter. But they all joined in saying you cannot hide who you are.
HAHAHAHA Michael Jackson, eh? LOL
On a more serious note though, it is true that a lot of Filipinos who undergo some kind of cosmetic procedure do so because of some form of colonial mentality. Probably why nose job is very common nowadays. And those bleaching creams and body peels!
You are right! I did not even know of butt bleaching which started in Sherman Oaks close to where I worked before until a Filipina told me in 2007 that it was the latest craze in New York
I attached the article link on my name.
Nobody would even see that hidden valley so to speak.
Oh not at all. What I’m trying to say is it’s their decision(not necessarily a good decision). And not particularly what I would do for myself nor do I want my daughter to do. Hopefully these young kids are taught to appreciate who they are and build a solid sense of self not to retort to these kinds of things in the future. But I (we) can only hope, yah know?
As a mother, makes me feel there’s the added stress of forever explaining to my kids why they shouldn’t believe 99% of what they see on TV, magazine shoots and ramp modeling. LOL Like mommies against corporate advertising.
Yup, just another challenge in Parenting. It’s exhausting in all levels..LOL
If only the legendary “fountain of youth” exist then perhaps,
no more heartaches,pain,tears,sufferings and unforeseen deaths.
I’ve witnessed and participated in the care of certain individuals
who resorted to cosmetic treatment and surgery gone awry,resulting
in facial deformities,loss of bodily functions,mental illness and even fatalities.
Each have heartbreaking stories to tell and consequently valuable lessons learned.Case in point: a 65 yr.old retiree who
spent half her savings and courageously agreed to undergo an 8hr.
surgery for a “body over-haul” just so to please her boyfriend
20 yrs.her junior.She bled after surgery and luckily survived
and appealed to us to spread the word that “It’s not worth it”
A 40 yr.old who developed fatal cardio-respiratory arrest from
anesthesia, who opted to have surgery to keep her marriage, but
instead left grieving family and friends.
How sad is that? I have all the reasons to empathize with them
because most, if not all are acting in the name of LOVE.Don’t you
agree? Sounds corny but I find it so true.
But,there are heartwarming stories too.My co-worker saved money
and spent a fortune for a nose job,blepharoplasty and dental braces before going home for a visit.To surprise her family she
didn’t mention about her new look and to top it all, she bought new wardrobe and colored her hair.
The whole clan were at the airport, after all it’s been 10 yrs.
since she left for the States.She was delighted to see them from afar and keep on waving at them.No one waved back. Nobody budged,no smile.No one recognized her,period.
After introducing herself..the oohhhs and the aahhhs and finally hysteric laughter. Finally,her Mom uttered in disbelief,
“Ikaw ba talaga ang anak ko”
At least happy ending!!
That’s a big factor — wanting to please the partner. It’s more common for women to want to look younger and sexier and the most common reason is that so the husband won’t “stray” and be attracted to younger women. And I really think such husbands/partners and such wives need a marriage counselor more than cosmetic surgery.
When my son was about 4 years old (he’s now 11) I would ask him if he would be willing to take care of me when I grow old. And very obediently, he would reply, “Yes, Mom.” Fast forward four more years, I’d ask him the same question and still get the same reply. But this time, I also made a commitment to him, and that is, Mom will do her part in taking care of herself (regular workout and proper diet) so that he wouldn’t have a hard time when Mom gets old.
Then my own mother was diagnosed to have colon cancer (she passed away last Jan).
These two factors, plus the vain woman in me–wanting to look and feel great, within my limited budget, got me to get serious with my workout and proper diet. I’m in my 40′s, but I feel stronger than when I was in my 30′s. I ran my first 10k two years ago!
Great for you! I’m okay with the diet part but I wish I can be more diligent about exercise.