All of us have fear of something – we fear spiders, heights, clowns, snakes, dark, and the airplanes. The list continues but the fear of surgery, going under knives and being operated is probably the scariest that can get adrenaline rushing through our veins.
It’s absolutely normal to have fears and doubts before any sort of medical procedure because you cannot ignore the risks involved. No matter what age the patient is and how critical the procedure is, safety, caution, and reliability are absolutely a concern for the surgery.
Generally the fear of surgery can be classified into two: Realistic and Unrealistic
Realistic fear is the felling of uneasiness felt when we surrender ourselves to someone else and lose complete control. Take breast augmentation surgery as an example for understanding this fear and let the fear of anesthesia be the major combat.
You will conquer this fear when you calculate the number of people undergoing anesthesia during this procedure in your town/city and subtract of these the number of patients dying or getting hurt. The number might just be “0”. You will instead find more people dying on roads in your city than of anesthesia complications.
NOTE: As a matter of fact, anesthesia, of all fields of medicine is that one thing where increased safety measures have been added and its malpractice has come down more.
The second is Unrealistic Fears. Almost everything is included in this category of fears. This simply means reassuring yourself over and over again despite how many questions have already been answered. Take the example of asking a million of women if they would get breast augmentation surgery again. The answer for 90% of them would be resounding yes, but to your belief, your fear will be more assuring.
Since plastic surgery is a procedure typically performed based on choice, while in most cases surgeries are performed out of necessity – patients have the luxury of saying yes or no. Surgeons at Crispin Plastic Surgery encourage all patients visiting for breast augmentation in Atlanta to be cautious of their choice.
For all those still fighting fears for undergoing breast augmentation surgery, following are the reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid:
- Due to advanced technology and a lot of research in the field, breast implants are becoming safer.
- FDA ensures the safety of patients and regulates the manufacturing of breast implants.
- Breast augmentation does not increase the risk of breast cancer.
- Breast augmentation can be safely performed with breast lift surgery.
- Women undergoing breast surgery can still breastfeed.
- Exercise will not cause the implants to rupture.
- Breast implants can be safely removed from the body, when desired.
- Post-mastectomy patients can also obtain breasts after reconstruction surgery.
- Only board certified surgeons will be able to operate. They are required to be graduated from an accredited medical school, need to complete 6 years or surgical training, need to complete 3 years of plastic surgery training at spot and fix potential complications, pass both oral and written exams, get their certification renewed every two years, and operate in an accredited facility only.
Remember that understanding the source of fear puts you in the right direction that can assist in calming those feelings.
The odds in getting breast augmentation and suffering bleeding are 2 in one hundred; getting an infection again is less than 2 in one hundred women. The odds of having numbness in nipples are as high as 15 %, and other complications are even less likely to happen.
Now, as for the recovery period and healing time, the roughest day will be the first day after surgery only. Gradually days get better and so does the feeling. Some women are fit to attend work even a week later the surgery, although this is rare and not recommended but the recovery and healing is not an impossible thing to happen.
Tips on Calming the Fears
Choose Your Doctor Wisely – It’s very important to choose the plastic surgeon. Half of your surgery depends on how well the conditions have been dealt by the surgeon. A board certified surgeon performing the surgery means a surgeon graduated from a well known medical school, completed years of trainings and practice, and passed all the exams. This clearly puts you in good hands.
Choose Your Implants Wisely – Breast implants are definitely safer than before. So you can skip worrying about the quality and safety of implants. You can also get the implants safely removed from the body, contrary to the belief of not.
Focus on the Results – The post surgery pain and recovery is always a cause of fear. Talk to the surgeon or a friend who has undergone the surgery. Expectations from the surgery in future will also help you in staying calm and focusing on the result.