"Mexican" Surgeons

On November 25, 2009 at 8:49 PM Pacific Time, BigCityGirl wrote: I hope this isn't a thinly veiled attempt to characterize Maria as "unstable" because she had a problem with a Mexican surgeon. . . . . . 

Just as the surgeon doesn't have the opportunity to "evaluate" her psyche prior to surgery, you are in no position to judge another's psyche based on conjecture......  


  It sure sounds like it.  Boy, the nerve of some people...pitiful.  Typical reaction to negative posts made on OH.

"I think another thing that should be kept in mind (especially by people who have spent many years obese) is that revisions are not uncommon. In fact, I think they are more the norm rather than the exception. We present a whole different set of challenges ..."

You think correctly, Renee.

My point exactly Heather.  We take a big risk going out of the country and the possibility of having a complication, BUT the surgeons in these foreign countries also take a big risk by accepting a patient they have not met.  It's tough enough to deceiver if a patient is mentally stable when you meet them briefly in your office, but it's almost totally impossible to determine that from an email message. That's why I said that our success isn't only determined by our surgeon, but it's also determined by us.  It's determined by how compliant we are after surgery AND prior to that how well we communicated our desires.  It's determined by how we imagine our outcomes.  How realistic are we?  I have lost over 200 lbs, I have more to lose and I realize, I will not look like the others here.  I will need revisions later after I reach goal.  I feel I'm pretty sure this procedure is being done to improve my back pain and help me be more mobile, not to make me look like Barbie. 

OMG you mean Im not going to look like Barbie?
Im all depressed now!

Well, you might!  You are starting at a much better place than I am!
Seriously, I have seen people on here who look absolutely gorgeous after plastics.  I won't be one of them.  But I'd like to look fairly decent. 

A girl can dream, can't she?

lol
being serious now....I didnt know that many people had a lot of revisions but now that I think about it...it all makes sense.

I've seen women (and men) who have themselves surgically altered to look like Barbie -- NOT PRETTY!!!

Very well said ladies !!  Wish more people on here had an open minds like yours.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody and I hope everyone on here finds what they are looking for !!

And thanks to all the ladies (and few guys) on here that helped by posting so much information which helped me be prepared for my P/S and the recovery !  (I might could have done it without yall -- but the information sure HELPED me along the way . ) 

Thanks again
Tony

I dearly wish this had been posted with a different title, so that we could address the issue of WHO has reconstructive surgery and plastic surgery and why ... 

No matter where the surgeon is, there seem to be tremendous issues and problems relating to psychological stability of patients.  I really do not envy doctors, having to decide whether or not to turn away a patient/client who is not appropriate for surgery because of emotional issues and expectations.  Perhaps it is similar to denying services because a patient is unsuitable for health reasons -- that would be interesting to know.

But I live in a place where it seems that a large number of people are going for repeat cosmetic procedures, and perhaps are even in a sense addicted to plastics.  There seems to be no professional concensus on the appropriateness of procedures or the suitability of some people for "treatment" -- Up and down our block are neighbors who have been surgically refined well past -- well, let's just say well past anything that seems normal.

My cousin came for dinner last fall, and I truly did not recognize her face.  I knew her because of her height, build, and the sound of her voice.  This happens all the time where I live.  In this town, we don't know our neighbors NOT because we are unfriendly -- just because we can't recognize them!!!

Combine this with the unsettling fact that women who have breast augmentation have a significantly higher rate of suicide -- wow, what is going on?

Maybe Dr. L can answer this -- Why is it that to get gastric bypass, I had to have consultations with:
1) internist
2) GI guy
3) psych eval
4) medical clearance from other doctors
4) nutritionist ....

. . . but to get 100" of incisions and 50" of suturing, I just had to get bloodwork and clearance from my regular physician?

It seems to me that plastics/reconstructive work are areas where patients are likelier to be resolving personal and emotional issues to some extent . . . Why does this remain largely an issue in the arena of the surgeon's general discretion?

Excellent points! Also, why is it that if you can pay the fee for the initial service, at times there seems no concern for what happens once you leave the OR or arena of concern for some of these doctors?  I've seen some truly dedicated plastic surgeons who care for their patients all the way through, and some that want to collect the fee for service and get you out without regard to what happens in 6 weeks or less.  As Dr. L stated on another post, the college of surgeons says you need to assume all care.  And what about those who want to severely distort their appearance to become cat people, or have a nose that is falling off.  I can see how it is easy to be come addicted to plastics - I have neighborhood syndrome in my own body.  I want my knees/calves to look better, shapely, etc., but if everyone surgeon I've asked says no, and I find ONE who says yes, I might be tempted and swayed to listen to the one.

This is an area where we can become very unstable in our thinking.  We cannot ever think that we won't have places on our bodies that will tell of our former size.  Lets get real here!  I will always have stretch marks, I will never have the nice full breasts I would like -- and I like mine, and I like how my surgeon did the auto aug - but when my friend had her implants, I started to want.  We can set ourselves up to have a never ending lust.  It is sad.

Challenging thought today -