Psychosomatic disturbances and cosmetic surgery

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Psychology
• Aesthetic Medicine

Background:

• Significant expansion in aesthetic surgery options available to patients.
• Growing demand for cosmetic dermatology services from healthy individuals.
• Shift in dermatology towards cosmetic procedures driven by patient requests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the psychosocial motivations behind cosmetic surgery requests.
• To underscore the importance of identifying psychological disturbances in patients seeking cosmetic procedures.
• To emphasize the need to exclude conditions like body dysmorphic disorder before cosmetic interventions.

Main Methods:

• Review of trends in aesthetic surgery and cosmetic dermatology.
• Analysis of patient motivations for seeking cosmetic procedures.
• Discussion of potential psychological comorbidities.

Main Results:

• Cosmetic surgery requests are frequently motivated by emotional or psychosocial factors.
• Patients with psychological disturbances may overlook or deny procedure risks and side effects.
• Underlying conditions such as somatizing disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, personality disorder, or polysurgical addiction can be present.

Conclusions:

• Psychological assessment is crucial for patients undergoing cosmetic procedures.
• Undiscovered psychological disorders can impact patient safety and outcomes in cosmetic dermatology.
• Exclusion of specific psychiatric conditions is recommended prior to aesthetic interventions.