Am I a Good Candidate for Cosmetic Surgery?

If you are considering cosmetic surgery for any reason--whether you feel you want a face lift or a nose job or a breast reduction--there are many factors that can affect your decisions. Here are three general questions to ask yourself when determining whether you are a good candidate for plastic surgery.

1. Do You Smoke? If you smoke cigarettes, there are very few cosmetic surgeons who will even consider working on you. Surgeons require that their patients be in good general health, and most smokers do not qualify. There are all sorts of risks to consider if you are a smoker, most significantly problems with anesthesia during the cosmetic surgery.

2. How Old Are You? Most plastic surgeons will not even consider working on anyone under 18, most especially in facial cosmetic surgeries. Ear cosmetic surgery, or an otoplasty, is the only procedure that will be performed on younger children, beginning at age 7 when the ears have stopped growing. Age is a critical factor when considering nose jobs. Girls after 18 may be considered for a nose job, but for young men, most surgeons will wait until 21 or later to account for growth spurts.

3. What Will Your Family and Friends Think? Often the most difficult "risk" of cosmetic surgery is not always physical, but emotional. American society has placed an enormous social stigma on cosmetic surgery patients. Many people believe that you should just accept the way you were "made". Some believe that resorting to such surgeries as liposuction is "cheating" and that you ought to work for it.

In many cases, however, cosmetic surgery is a good thing. It is an opportunity for a man who has never liked looking in the mirror because of his nose to make a change. It is an opportunity for a chronically obese woman with a thyroid condition to get into a healthy body that she otherwise could not obtain. When done for these reasons, family and friends will understand and support a surgery.

The final word on friends and family from many cosmetic surgeons is "they'll come around." Cosmetic surgery must be something that you do for you, not for anyone else. And, if you're the right age, don't smoke, and in good general health, you should have no problem being a good candidate for your cosmetic surgery.