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Couple on Beach
Side view of smiling middle aged couple on beach looking off into the distance together. Horizontal shot.
By Marc Anthony Serret, MD
Today, we lead such busy lives that keeping and maintaining our appearance can be a constant challenge.
In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon was in search of it. Cleopatra was obsessed with it. Nefertiti gave meaning to it – beauty, proportions, youth.
For centuries, maintaining an outer appearance that mirrors our inner health and wellness has been important. Today, we lead such busy lives that keeping and maintaining our appearance can be a constant challenge. With societal pressures, workplace competition, and social media expansion, looking our absolute best has never been more important. As we age, the effects of sun exposure, gravity, pollutants and life stressors wear on us and our appearance.
These factors can result in changes in facial proportions, sagging and thinning skin, loss of volume and elasticity, contour alterations or actinic damage, the brown spots and growths caused by damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. These changes in appearance can also affect our self-esteem.
Genetics play a role in how we age – which can be kind to some, and not so kind to others.
To address these external medical and genetic issues, plastic surgery is an option. There are minimally invasive options as well as time-tested traditional surgical procedures to help you look and feel your best. While the benefits of plastic surgery are well known and surgical procedures are becoming more accepted, new data from recent studies also affirm the positive impact on our self-esteem and how we feel about ourselves.
Procedures such as brow lifts, eyelid surgery, face lifts (mini and full), neck lifts, nasal surgery, ear surgery, fat grafting, laser, fillers and Botox treatments, have helped many to look as good as they feel. Breast surgeries such as lifts, reductions, reconstruction and augmentation, have helped many women restore their sense of femininity and improve their self-image.
Tummy tucks, arm lifts, thigh lifts, body contouring, liposuction and even mommy/daddy makeover procedures can restore our sense of self. Reconstructive and hand surgery helps make us whole again. Skin care, chemical peels and dermabrasion can help reverse the actinic damage burden.
Having a higher confidence and healthy self-esteem may increase a person’s level of happiness and life satisfaction, and high-quality cosmetic and plastic procedures can improve quality of life.
If you are thinking about taking the plunge, selecting a board-certified plastic surgeon ensures that your surgeon is a trained expert in facial and body procedures. You can have confidence in a specialist who is dedicated to helping prove that “age is just a number.”
Plastic surgery board certification matters, as accredited plastic surgeons train for many years, must pass detailed certification exams, and are required to maintain certification requirements.
So, baby boomers and Gen Xers who feel it is time for a makeover should be aware that plastic surgery can help you rejuvenate, improve self-esteem, and increase marketplace competitiveness. To help you embrace your outer fabulousness may mean just taking time to explore options to make you feel as fabulous on the outside as you feel within.
Marc Anthony Serret, M.D., Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and assistant professor - Department of Surgery with Baylor Scott & White Health - College Station and Brenham
