Does She Need a Facelift? - Washingtonian

"At 37, I thought I was a long way from the surgeon's knife. And yet... when I look in the mirror and smile, I notice wrinkles around my eyes and creases stretching from my nose and around the corners of my mouth. I figured that, if anything, the talks with cosmetic surgeons would give me the information I'd need when things started to sag and droop in, say, five or ten years."

"So I visited five plastic surgeons, gave them all the same complaints about wrinkles, and waited to see what they'd suggest. I secretly hoped these professionals would say: You're crazy. You don't need a thing. But four out of five doctors told me I wasn't crazy. It turns out that what I thought was a mild case of crow's-feet and some common creases around my mouth were the least of my worries."

"One thing I learned from the experience: If you're not sure you want or need plastic surgery, don't ask surgeons to help you decide. After all, it is the rare individual in the service business who suggests you don't need the service you've come to discuss. They could only assume from my visit that I was ready to be lifted and tucked."

"The consultant who did my "pre-interview" at the Austin-Weston plastic surgery clinic in McLean had two black eyes, staples in her head, and a huge bandage wrapped around her midsection to help a recent liposuction heal. And these were not her first surgeries. It made me feel horrified by the idea of plastic surgery, but I decided to go through with my appointment with Dr. Harvey Austin."

A 37-year-old visits five plastic surgeons with the same concerns about wrinkles and facial creases. Most surgeons do not dismiss her worries; four out of five suggest she has more significant issues than she expected. She learns that asking surgeons to decide can bias outcomes because service providers typically do not recommend against the service a patient seeks. She also observes how visible surgical aftermath and repeated procedures can shape her feelings about cosmetic surgery. The experience leads her to conclude that harm can come not only from surgical knives but also from the process of being evaluated and encouraged toward treatment.

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