Cosmetic surgery on the NHS - should it be allowed?

That's definitely along the lines of how I feel

I guess a slight rephrasement of my question is then, do you think getting cosmetic surgery because of insecurity issues/depression (so relating it to actual health rather than purely on appearance) is acceptable, or would your view be that other methods such as counselling would be more appropriate?

So do you think it should be allowed on the NHS?
You seem to think the NHS isn't a great system (forgive me if I misinterpretated you), but while it is in place is the whole idea of getting what you pay for not irrelevant? It was designed to support those in need regardless of how much tax they personally have contributed or how much they can afford to spend on health insurance.
Assuming the NHS stays in place, regardless of whether it's a good or bad system, do you think cosmetic plastic surgery can be justified as essential for some people?

Yes, I think its acceptable whatever :P With or without a scheme, As a society we are getting more modern and this is something we are going to have to accept. The only reason I mention schemes is because I know there will be a group of people unhappy about X X and X and you know that I personally want to raise taxes anyway.

Yes issues that require surgery to fix E.G Mental and Physical health related. Real reasons. Having a mole on your bum =/= Real reason unless it was doing obvious extreme stress on the person. (Maybe on your face, or some exposed area it might be, but really who sees your bum anyway? )

Hmm, I think we could stop the 'universal health care' but that is another matter and I won't get into that. Weight loss is another thing, There is a lot of unneeded weight loss surgery being done on people who are a) lazy, b) lazy or c) lazy (I actually did a report on it). I of course think that surgery should be done on those who truly need it (weight by medical illness etc) but there are some people who just disgrace me (Bare in mind I was 19 stone 4 pounds in February, I am now 13 stone WITHOUT surgery) and think that they can just 'get surgery' and its fine. Instead of spending 8k per surgery on people who do not need it for real reasons, how about doctors become more proactive in targeting over weight people before it becomes a serious problem? When I went in at my heaviest to my GP they gave me a weetabix diet sheet for meat eaters when I'm a veggie, they really need some better training and advice on how to deal with people who are large by there own methods or can obviously be seen to reaching a danger zone concerning their weight.

I also think braces are a waste of money in a lot of cases. I had private braces because my parents didn't want to wait but I do know a girl at school who had them on the NHS and her teeth where almost near perfect yet was given a full 5 year course of braces? They total around 5000 pounds Obviously sometimes they are really needed, Mine where needed because I had what is only to be described as vampire teeth and I had no space at the back of my mouth for my wisdom teeth.

Things like that, There are many more but I would rather not upset the trolls

Someone I know has just had cosmetic surgery on the NHS. It's not normally allowed except to correct health issues, but she claimed it was making her depressed about herself and they allowed her to have it (she had a chin reduction).

On one hand, it was clearly something she was insecure about and she's definitely more confident now after she's undergone the surgery.

However it is using money from taxpayers, which could be spent on treatment for a patient with a life-threatening illness.

And more philosophically, is this sending the wrong message? She's adopted the attitude that she's 'beaten everyone who ever called her ugly' because she's pretty now, but this could easily be seen as her giving in to the media's idea of beauty, i.e. sending the message 'your life sucked because you were ugly, but now you fit the media's standards of beauty more, your life will get better'.

What do you think? And if you had something about your physical features seen as extremely unattractive in today's society, would you consider plastic surgery? If it was avaliable on the NHS would you take it or would you go private?

TL;DR: What are your views on purely cosmetic surgery given to people on the NHS?

I'm open to the idea, but it depends on context. If it's purely for vanity? Absolutely not. If there are psychological issues attached to it? Well, psychiatric treatment won't work for everyone, contrary to popular belief, so yes I think that it should always be there as an alternative as long as a professional psychologist is convinced that it's necessary, or would at least be beneficial to a citizen's mental health. And obviously for reconstructive work after accidents.

But mostly because I'm pissed off that three successive NHS dentists failed to recommend me for free braces when I was a kid and if I want to get my (very) crooked teeth straightened out I have to shell out for it myself or take a hammer to my jaw and say I had an accident, and then get them to pay for reconstructive work. **** you, dentists of Kent. :mfing:

To be honest. Why we have these discussions I don't know....It's not clear cut and every case needs to be looked at differently....

I think it should also be a last resort....

I'm not sure that I can say yes. But that's the problem with socialized medicine. The person may still be paying enough for various treatments in taxes and if they are unable to get it on the NHS, they'll have to go private as well as subsidizing the NHS through their tax. So you end up being hit with a double bill.

I am having a labiaplasty on the NHS in four weeks. I have been waiting since I was four years old.

I have had doctors and consultants interrogate me as to why I "want" the operation - they feel it is not something I should be allowed. I have been told it is due to masturbation, due to my genes or down to not washing often enough - one doctor told me to go buy femfresh and have a good scrub! My consultant said if I lost weight it would all be solved, ignoring the fact I was born the way I am..

They hang by 7cm below my bottom and regularly blister and go dry. I have been told they will never go back to normal and will only continue to get worse as I get older, have children and then go through the menopause. I struggle to walk, have a normal sex life, wear underwear and clothing, sit for extended periods, struggle to use sanitary products and have to regularly run to changing rooms and toilets so as to readjust. I have ended up nigh on crawling to the doctor before, I have ended up in A&E before. I have tried medication and lifestyle changes - I wrote it all for a consultant and the medication list ended up being a page long. Without the operation I'd cut them off myself. Apparently this is normal for girls/ladies to go through.

Is it cosmetic? Yes - 50% of the operation is cosmetic. I look unlike everything I have ever seen - the only time I saw someone as bad as me, was on a TV show where they were showing one of the worst cases documented. I've been laughed at for what I look like - in swimming costumes I have the appearance of having a small penis. I hate what I look like "there" - and have even had doctors looking and being visibly shocked. Then at the other end of the scale there are doctors who glance at me or don't look at all and then tell me I am making a din over nothing and need to accept myself and the fact I'll be on regular meds for the rest of my life.

Cosmetic or unecessary surgery on the NHS is very, very rarely given to ANYONE - regardless of need. It's not handed out a lot, you have to go through mental health assessments, seeing various consultants etc and try everything else possible and even if you do get accepted, you can be damn sure that most of the NHS won't be happy. It's not worth even asking unless there are really severe medical or mental issues.

Aw that seems pretty unfair
But as someone mentioned earlier, dental procedures are mostly done for cosmetic reasons (everyone wants nice straight teeth!) so does that make cosmetic surgery on other parts of your body more acceptable?

Yes, within certain bounds. I could well believe that her protruding chin could have been causing her as much mental harm as other conditions could cause physical harm. However, such operations on the jaw are rarely purely cosmetic, as they tend to improve the bite and relieve conditions such as sleep apnea etc. Anyway, mental health is just as important as physical, and, of course, whilst it's not the case that one needs to be good-looking to have good mental health, it sure helps!

The fact is that, regardless of the media, 'ugly' people (with the inevitable exceptions) do have and probably always have had disproportionately crappy lives (cf. natural selection, the 'halo effect' and all the other psychological studies that point in that direction). If we can alleviate that, I don't see why we shouldn't.

Having recently been on placement in a burns and plastics ward I would say there weren't many patients who I genuinely didn't think deserved their surgery. The NHS isn't really in the habit of just handing out surgery because someone whinges a bit however that isn't to say that it doesn't happen.

I'm assuming protocols may differ slightly in all NHS trusts but I know where I was patients have to see a psychologist before they can be approved for surgery and they can only have 2 "cosmetic" procedures on the NHS.

Those who have deep rooted self esteem issues will not have their problems solved by surgery and as such should be offered more appropriate solutions.

The NHS's priority should undoubtedly be towards the most serious cases but whilst it's not ideal we can't deny we live in an image obsessed society. As such, if a tummy tuck to remove post weight loss excess skin on a young mother gives her enough confidence to take her toddler swimming and an ear pinning back operation can prevent a child from being bullied then who am I to judge?

Sorry about the essay!

It shouldn't be doled out willynilly but I think in theory yes. Leaving aside the obvious cases where plastic surgery should be available ,burns or a knife wound . I think society has a duty especially if someone has been a victim of crime to make good the damage done by a subhuman and give the best cosmetic result possible. Another situation where approval should be automatic is where due to nhs cancer treatment, surgical removal of breasts or a testicle cosmetic surgery is required as part of the surgical team. I think if the patient would like implants they should be given them.

In other situations, such as someone with wonky teeth, or a tummy tuck , breast reduction in both women and men, if the basis is only cosmetic I would not automatically approve it but in my opinion shouldn't be automatically refused. For instance if someone has mental health issues caused or in part caused by these conditions taxpayers may save money in the long term ,as these people become more functioning members of society.As they gain confidence.

So I do believe there is a role for cosmetic surgery in the NHS, but of course money doesn't grow on trees so sometimes people would get turned down. However, in my view I would totally reform the NHS anyway,and save money and some of that budget could be used to pay for cosmetics and make sure people get more funding in areas which make better press,cancer treatment etc etc.

I would do this by, not allowing any immigrants to have access to NHS health care in the same way as British citizens until they have contributed in taxes for 10 years NO MORE HEALTH TOURISTS.They would have to get medical insurance as they do in the states. If they don't like it ,they can go home.

I would also introduce part payment for nhs treatments for self inflicted problems such as sports injuries, drunkeness,obesity related illness's for instance. there would be an additional premium on those who assault nhs staff. How I would do it is, certain conditions would be flagged and every person would get a bill. And then people with income over a certain amount would have to pay ,or if the person is a minor their parents.

I am having a labiaplasty on the NHS in four weeks. I have been waiting since I was four years old.

I have had doctors and consultants interrogate me as to why I "want" the operation - they feel it is not something I should be allowed. I have been told it is due to masturbation, due to my genes or down to not washing often enough - one doctor told me to go buy femfresh and have a good scrub! My consultant said if I lost weight it would all be solved, ignoring the fact I was born the way I am..

They hang by 7cm below my bottom and regularly blister and go dry. I have been told they will never go back to normal and will only continue to get worse as I get older, have children and then go through the menopause. I struggle to walk, have a normal sex life, wear underwear and clothing, sit for extended periods, struggle to use sanitary products and have to regularly run to changing rooms and toilets so as to readjust. I have ended up nigh on crawling to the doctor before, I have ended up in A&E before. I have tried medication and lifestyle changes - I wrote it all for a consultant and the medication list ended up being a page long. Without the operation I'd cut them off myself. Apparently this is normal for girls/ladies to go through.

Is it cosmetic? Yes - 50% of the operation is cosmetic. I look unlike everything I have ever seen - the only time I saw someone as bad as me, was on a TV show where they were showing one of the worst cases documented. I've been laughed at for what I look like - in swimming costumes I have the appearance of having a small penis. I hate what I look like "there" - and have even had doctors looking and being visibly shocked. Then at the other end of the scale there are doctors who glance at me or don't look at all and then tell me I am making a din over nothing and need to accept myself and the fact I'll be on regular meds for the rest of my life.

Cosmetic or unecessary surgery on the NHS is very, very rarely given to ANYONE - regardless of need. It's not handed out a lot, you have to go through mental health assessments, seeing various consultants etc and try everything else possible and even if you do get accepted, you can be damn sure that most of the NHS won't be happy. It's not worth even asking unless there are really severe medical or mental issues.

I don't think it matters about the body part - if the NHS is going to start funding surgical treatment for one body part for mental health reasons, then all should be considered equal. I don't think having surgery on any part is more or less acceptable than any other, personally - if you need the treatment then you need the treatment!

Also, there is a line between cosmetic procedures on teeth for giving the perfect smile - which I don't want - and those carried out for creating a normal smile, which I would personally regard, in my position anyway, as a major self-esteem booster for someone who has had a crooked smile. When even poor Cuban children almost unilaterally have great smiles, you wonder why the **** the government of one of the richest nations on the planet can't get it right . . .



It's hard to gauge. I think it can be both. There are insecurities where you feel fundamentally inadequate, of less worth than others, which I think are psychological in nature, and insecurities where you feel conscious of the opinions of others and aim to please them through sprucing yourself up, which I think are more rooted in vanity.

I think it's good for people who have a genuine issue with something and it's affecting their life. Sometimes though I think people do it for dishonest reasons. I know a girl who had slightly different sized boobs (one was an A cup and the other was B) and she went to several GPs who refused her a boob job on the NHS. Eventually she went to a GP in another town and laid it on very thick, basically saying it was ruining her life and she couldn't have a boyfriend because of it. This was a complete lie as she's had loads of boyfriends and about 30 one night stands, no exaggeration. She eventually got a boob job up to a C cup on the NHS...guess she's happy with it though.

So if someone had a nose of a size most people would consider to be abnormally large, do you think a cosmetic procedure should be provided on the NHS to make it a normal size?

I really liked your comment on insecurity/vanity btw

Thanks

Depends why they were unhappy with the nose. If they were unhappy with their nose because it didn't look quite like they wanted to, well first I'd tell them to get new friends and then tell them to leave. If they were unhappy with their nose because they felt that they were worth less as a person, because they thought other people thought less of them for it, or because they felt generally depressed as a result of having a nose like that, then if I were a GP there's no question in my mind that I'd recommend them to a plastic surgeon after consulting with a psychiatrist. Nose, boobs, teeth, chin, chicken wings, genitals, whatever - if there are serious and/or detrimental psychological problems stemming from it that cannot reasonably be treated with psychiatric therapy, then they should be offered a surgical option.

Only in extreme cases of disfigurement. I don't think "It makes me self conscious/I feel ugly" is a legitimate justification for cosmetic surgery - the problem there is clearly with the individuals psychology, they need counselling, not plastic surgery. Once they get their nose fixed they'll pick on something else to hate about themselves.