Liposuction and Plastic Surgery Information - Increase in DIY plastic surgery by patients with body dysmorphic disorder

Increase in DIY plastic surgery by patients with body dysmorphic disorder

Wednesday, 25 July 2007

A leading psychologist has reported to a conference that some patients in the UK are so unhappy with their appearance that they have glued back their ears, tried to iron the wrinkles off their face and cut open their stomachs in order to perform a DIY tummy-tuck.

Dr David Veale told the conference, organised by the Centre of Appearance Research in the UK that the rise of DIY plastic surgery was fuelled by a celebrity culture that made people unhappy with their own bodies, a condition known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

He said: "I have seen desperate people in the past who have glued their ears back and cut into their stomach in a bid to be thin.

"The worst case I am aware of is a man who did a DIY nose job. He pushed a chisel up his nose and then replaced the cartilage he had taken off with a chicken bone.

"These are very extreme cases but they do happen. Some people are very, very desperate and their image of themselves is totally distorted.

"These are people who can't afford to go to a surgeon. I have had women who have drawn what they think they look like and you wouldn't believe how wrong they really are."

The conference called for plastic surgeons to make greater use of psychological evaluations to ensure that patients were not suffering from body dysmorphic disorder and that they were suitable candidates for plastic surgery.

Tags: Body Dysmorphic Disorder, plastic surgery, surgery safety,