Body image dissatisfaction in women seeking rhytidectomy or blepharoplasty

Ninety-seven women seeking rhytidectomy, blepharoplasty, or both completed two measurements of body image prior to their initial consultation. Results were compared with the normal scores for each of the measurements and with a sample of 32 women seeking rhinoplasty. Results indicated that women seeking rhytidectomy, blepharoplasty, or both to improve aging facial features reported a greater investment in and satisfaction with their overall appearance than women in a normattive sample. As was consistent with the findings of previous investigations, when asked about the specific body feature for which they were considering surgery, patients who wished to improve the appearance of aging facial features reported significantly greater dissatisfaction with their appearance feature than the normative sample but significantly less dissatisfaction than patients undergoing rhinoplasty. Patients wishing to improve the appearance of aging facial features seem to present for cosmetic surgery with different body image concerns than patients undergoing other types of cosmetic surgery.