Here’s a study that reflects common sense.
IN the first season of the television drama ”Nip/Tuck,” two plastic surgeons named Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy hire a staff psychologist to determine whether their patients are psychologically equipped to handle cosmetic procedures. In one episode, the psychologist denies treatment to a severely depressed patient who later commits suicide.
In real life, although plastic surgeons sometimes refer patients for counseling, they typically do not have a psychologist on staff. But new research may prompt doctors to consider it.
A study published this month in Annals of Plastic Surgery found that among women with cosmetic breast implants, there was a threefold increase in suicide and in deaths related to alcohol or substance abuse compared with the expected death rates of women who did not have implants.
