Postoperative satisfaction and the patient's body image, life satisfaction, and self-esteem: a retrospective study comparing adolescent girls and boys after cosmetic surgery.

BACKGROUND

Cosmetic surgery procedures are more complex for adolescents than for adults because there are more factors affecting patient satisfaction, especially psychological factors. This study was designed to find answers to four main questions: (1) whether postoperative satisfaction rates differ statistically between males and females, (2) whether postoperative satisfaction correlates significantly with the self-esteem, body image, life satisfaction trilogy, (3) what the postoperative patient satisfaction and cosmetic procedure rates are among adolescents by years, and (4) whether a statistically significant relationship exists between postoperative satisfaction and a willingness of adolescents to undergo another cosmetic surgery.

METHODS

The study enrolled 86 of 165 patients who underwent surgery between January 2001 and June 2005. A simple poll consisting of 12 simple questions was used to collect data.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference was found in postoperative satisfaction rates between males and females. The findings show that postoperative satisfaction is significantly related to self-esteem, body image, and life satisfaction. The patient satisfaction rate was 93.83%, and there was no increase in adolescent cosmetic surgery rates over the years.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents are good candidates for cosmetic surgery, but patients must be evaluated carefully. Any suspicion about a patient's psychological status must result in a psychiatric consultation.