[The therapeutic function of the aesthetic surgery]

By its definition and its etymology, aesthetic surgery is as much a surgery for the soul as for the body. Aesthetic surgery is a true "armed" therapy that essentially targets the psychology of the patient. This therapeutic "arsenal" preserves and/or restores the health of the patient according to its different aspects as defined by the World Health Organization. The plastic surgeon is always concerned about his patient as a whole, and as a human being, of whom he takes charge. Indeed there lies his specificity: He is as well a surgeon and a physician. We identify and analyze, in this chapter, the particular quality of patient-surgeon relationship on a surgical, psychological and juridical level. It is interesting to note that this collaboration results from a spontaneous convergence. The surgeon, the main interested figure, asserts himself mainly as a physician that is totally involved in a dialogue with his patient. He multiplies the interviews and he sharpens his clinical approach, and his own reactions, with regard to the demand for plastic surgery. The psychiatrist establishes the theoretical and practical aspects of the patient demand. The jurist, far from the barren dissertation of the law, reconsiders the environment of the demand and legitimates the generating wish: he insists on the necessary information but also on assuming responsibility. The therapeutic function of the plastic surgery appears essentially related to the success of a psychic repair solicited by the patient but that is scarcely specified by him as such, and of which he is, most probably, rarely fully aware. The process is to listen and to gather the information that guarantees mutual understanding. Plastic surgery is considered irreplaceable by many of our patients, and indisputable by us. It brings incomparable social and human fertility. It is, however, an ambitious and difficult project that is highly demanding. It is far from the impression of facility reflected by the media. Every actor of this scene, where the patient takes the center stage, must be aware of it.