By By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter, HealthDay Reporter
(HealthDay)
MONDAY, April 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Some patients with serious illnesses get cosmetic surgery to look healthier and be more comfortable in social situations or at work, a small study finds.
Researchers interviewed 12 patients who had cosmetic surgery at the start or during treatment for conditions such as stroke, advanced melanoma, prostate cancer, advanced cervical or thyroid cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Patients dealing with serious illnesses have visible signs of their health problems, which make them feel unhappy about themselves,” said senior author Dr. Murad Alam, vice chair of dermatology and chief of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
“Cosmetic procedures that improve appearance make these patients feel better and more confident during a time when they are already going through so much,” he said in a school news release.
Most said they sought cosmetic surgery directly because of their major medical illness (75%) or treatment (66%).
Their reasons included mental well-being, social acceptance, counteracting aging, work benefits, and suggestions from friends, family and doctors.
“Post-treatment, you look in the mirror negative-wise,” a 34-year-old woman with breast cancer told researchers. “You have no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes, nothing. My immune system was severely low, so I looked really pale and anemic. It’s like you don’t even recognize yourself anymore.”
Alam said the findings “may help improve conversations between physicians and patients who are interested in getting cosmetic procedures, so that they have information on procedures that are most safe and helpful for them.”
SOURCE: Northwestern University Medicine, news release, April 5, 2022
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