Each one of us has made up a picture of how he is treated by other people in everyday encounters and of the impression he gives off. People who are happy with themselves are very likely to have a strong self-confidence, be effective in their work and characterised by a certain ease in their social encounters. Those who are not happy tend to be psychologically unstable and less effective in what they do. Regardless of whether it is performed for cosmetic or reconstruction purposes, plastic surgery shall encourage and promote a strong image of the patient. Even a small change in the patient’s external appearance may cause a dramatic change in his psychology, increasing his self-confidence. Due to the fact that the changes caused on the body through plastic surgery are often permanent, it is important to know in advance (before you are submitted to surgery) how the result of surgery and your new external appearance shall affect your image.

If you wish to be submitted to plastic surgery you should be honest with your self as to the reason for which you want to undergo the particular procedure and as to the anticipated change in your external appearance. There are two categories of patients who make good candidates for plastic surgery:

Those who are not happy tend to be psychologically unstable and less effective in what they do. Regardless of whether it is performed for cosmetic or reconstruction purposes, plastic surgery shall encourage and promote a strong image of the patient. Even a small change in the patient’s external appearance may cause a dramatic change in his/her psychology, increasing his self-confidence. Due to the fact that the changes caused on the body through plastic surgery are often permanent, it is important to know in advance (before you are submitted to surgery) how the result of surgery and your new external appearance shall affect your image.

• The first category includes patients with strong self-confidence who just do not like the look of a particular part of their body and wish to improve it or change it. After surgery these patients are satisfied with the results and preserve their strong image.

• The second category includes patients with a body defect that has affected their self-confidence over time. Those patients’ adjustment to the new image is rather slow, since building one’s self-confidence requires a certain amount of time.

However, as they adjust, their self-confidence is dramatically boosted. It is important to remember that plastic surgery can bring changes both in a person's natural characteristics and his self-confidence.

If you wish to undergo a procedure hoping to change other people's behaviour towards you, you may be disappointed. It is possible that your friends and loved ones have a positive response to the change of your external appearance and self-confidence. On the other, you should understand and accept the fact that plastic surgery will not bring any dramatic changes to the lives of other people.

In many cases a person's wish to change part of his external appearance is an expression of a psychological problem.

In such case there is no type of surgery to satisfy this person.

These persons must seek special psychological support and only after they are stable can they be considered as good candidates for an operation that will change their natural characteristics. The categories of persons who require special psychological support before being submitted to plastic surgery are:

• Persons who go through a period of personal crisis, such as a divorce, the death of a loved one or loss of work. These persons may seek to overcome this crisis believing that they will find the power they need by improving certain features of their external appearance. In such cases we must stress out to the patient that he must first solve his psychological problem and then seek to change his external appearance.

• Persons with unrealistic expectations These are persons who wish to change a certain feature to make it resemble to that of a particular famous person, with the hope that they will get the lifestyle of the person they want to resemble to. Persons who wish to restore their previous "perfection" after a serious accident or an illness, or persons who wish to regain their long lost youth.

• Unsatisfied persons These are persons who seek the advice of many different surgeons in their effort to get the answers they want.

• Persons who are obsessed with minor defects of their external appearance And may believe that if these are corrected their life will be perfect. Born perfectionists, these patients may be good candidates for surgery if they are realistic enough to understand that the surgery's results may not fully meet their expectations.

• Patients with a mental disorder. These patients may be operated upon if it is clarified that the reason they want surgery is not related to the existing psychosis. In these cases a close co-operation between the plastic surgeon and the psychiatrist must be established.

During your first contact with the plastic surgeon the latter shall look for honest answers as to how you feel about your external appearance, how you believe that the people around you will treat you and how you want to feel and look like. Being honest with your self and with the surgeon is a determining factor. It is very important to set aside any inhibition that you may feel and have an honest talk about the changes you wish to see after surgery. At the end of your talk you and your surgeon must be confident that you understand each other perfectly. If this understanding is not achieved you may not be satisfied by the final result.

Parents may feel very confused when they need to decide to proceed with surgical reconstruction of their children’s external characteristics or when their children wish to change or correct a certain external characteristic.

In cases of reconstructive surgery, such as the cleft lip and cleft palate or craniofacial procedures the benefits of early treatment are evident.

Parents usually seek the advice of surgeons, psychologists and other specialists who reassure them that surgery is the best option for their child.

However, in cases such as otoplasty, options may not be that clear. If the child does not seem to pay much attention to the fact that he looks “different” parents may not hurry him into surgery.

However, if the child feels the disadvantage of his external appearance, parents must decide to treat the problem in surgery, so that the child’s psychological health and self-confidence may be assured. Certain plastic surgery procedures may have significant psychological benefits for teenagers provided that they are satisfactorily adapting to society and are psychologically stable. Plastic surgery procedures should never be imposed to a teenager nor should a teenager’s obsession affect the judgment of a plastic surgeon.

Plastic surgery procedures may cause significant additional psychological pressure. It is important that the surgery is decided to take place at the right time when the patient will not fill any significant bodily, psychological or emotional burden.
In order to be sure that you are psychologically ready for surgery, your plastic surgeon may ask you about your personal relations at that particular time, your family life, any potential problems at work as well as other private information.
Once again, honesty is a determining factor. In general, a surgical procedure should not be scheduled during a period of increased activity or emotional instability.
Persons who are submitted to surgery in periods during which they are under emotional pressure or other type of stress, may face an extended and difficult healing time.

A person’s psychological adjustment to a change of external appearance after plastic surgery requires a certain amount of time, particularly if surgery has significantly changed the body’s appearance. If you plan to undergo a certain plastic surgery procedure that will restore some of your youth’s features and erase the signs of time, such as e.g. blepharoplasty or chemical peel then it is likely that you will adjust fast to your new look, since your reflection in the mirror will seem familiar but more rejuvenated and youthful. However, if you plan to undergo a certain procedure on the breasts, nose or other area that will bring significant change in your external appearance, the post-operative adjustment period may last longer.

Even the most independent persons are in need of help during early post-operative period since there will be days when they will feel depressed and the treated areas may be swollen, bruised and possibly painful.

Choose people who shall help you and who can offer you support, and not people who will judge you for your decision to undergo surgery and who may harm you psychologically.

Avoid contact with people who may tell you: “I liked you more before" or "You really didn't have to do the surgery" and try to focus your thoughts on the reasons that made you decide to undergo this particular surgery.

The results of your surgery are most likely to trigger comments by your friends and family. Usually these comments are not positive. If you have been submitted to a fully cosmetic operation you may be called a narcissus, a person without self-confidence or even a fool. Similar comments may also come from your closest friends who may feel threatened by your improved external appearance.

Some patients find it helpful to deal with criticism by saying "This was something I wanted to do for myself and I am very happy with the results".