What is cosmetic surgery?
Are cosmetic surgeries operations for beauty? Cosmetic surgery could be defined as surgery for beauty. Not every plastic surgery operation that is understood as cosmetic surgery by non-medical professionals is really to be understood as such. The fact is that many operations are medically justifiable. However, this does not mean that health insurance companies will cover the costs.
The following medical indications are frequently encountered in plastic surgery:
- Mental distress with reactive depression
- Maceration (softening of the skin) and inflammation in skin folds with excess skin
- Congenital malformations such as breast asymmetry (breast imbalance)
- et al.
Which operations are medically justified and when?
In some cases, operations that are primarily known as cosmetic surgery may still be medically justified. Below you will find some examples of this.
Is upper eyelid correction cosmetic surgery?
An upper eyelid lift is not always performed for aesthetic reasons alone.
The excess skin on the upper eyelid is often so large that the eyelid skin extends to the end of the eyelashes. In such cases, the delicate eyelid lifting muscle tires quickly, causing patients to complain of heavy eyelids in the early evening. Furthermore, the excess eyelid skin can lead to visual field constriction, which can be objectified by determining the visual field.
Gynecomastia surgery is not cosmetic surgery if the findings are extensive.
Andromastectomy = gynecomastia surgery is often not part of cosmetic surgery. Gynecomastia is breast enlargement in men, which is often a remnant of puberty. However, it can also have its roots in diseases of the hormone balance or the liver, among other things. If a disease is the cause, this must be remedied if possible. However, surgery is usually necessary, as the excess tissue often does not disappear or only disappears insufficiently. The focus here is not on ‘beautifying’ the patient through cosmetic surgery, but on normalizing the findings. Men with a cup size of B to C suffer greatly psychologically from this feminine attribute.
Is breast augmentation a cosmetic operation?
Breast augmentation in women is certainly the epitome of the expression of feminine beauty that is supported by plastic surgery. And yet this is not always the case! Breast asymmetries that require significant breast augmentation with breast implants to correct them are a breast malformation, i.e. a congenital condition. The same applies to women who have no breasts. Depending on the findings, doctors refer to this as breast aplasia(lack of breasts) or breast hypoplasia(short stature of the breast). It is understandable that the psychological distress corresponds to that of men.
In this respect, we are not talking about operations that are performed purely for aesthetic reasons. In fact, breast augmentation was covered by health insurance in special cases in the 1990s – a rarity today.
