Dr Bharath S P, Consultant-Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon, Manipal Hospital highlights that considering the facts and circumstances, it is imperative that necessary steps are to be taken by the patients to approach the appropriate surgeons to undergo any changes related to reconstruction and cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery is a type of surgery that can change a person’s appearance and ability to function. The desire for beauty in human nature has long existed and is deeply rooted in socio-cultural and psychological aspects of society. The pressure from society and unrealistic expectation of the self, present various decision making and ethical dilemma when these patients approach the doctor for surgery.
The moral responsibility of a doctor has long been recognised. Medical ethics are the set of principles that govern the activity of a doctor while conducting medical procedures. The set of rules is implemented to keep morality alive in any act without bias and harm to the patient.
Nowadays with the increase in the importance of cosmetic surgeries, there are many unskilled and untrained personal attempting to do these surgeries and adversely affecting the outcome. Beauticians are performing hair transplantations, and have made the conditions critical by not evaluating the risk-benefit ratio from the medical perspective. These unethical acts for business purposes have put healthcare in dilemma. Considering the facts and circumstances, it is imperative that necessary steps are to be taken by the patients to approach the appropriate surgeons to undergo any changes related to reconstruction and cosmetic surgery, as they follow the medical ethics and perform surgeries only after a thorough evaluation of the health of the patient. This can prevent any complications related to the health of the person and makes the procedure safer.
Medical ethics promotes health, well-being, and respect for decision-making in the medical profession. The four pillars of medical ethics that a plastic surgeon should follow are beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice.
The first pillar of beneficence is about promoting good for patients. This focuses on providing the advanced best treatment to the patient to prevent the untoward effects and give better outcomes with no harm. Surgeons uphold morality and are transparent about the outcomes and the need for plastic surgery.
The second pillar of non-maleficence is to weigh the risk-benefit ratio and see that patient does not face any problems in the long term after surgery. Every surgery will have a certain amount of risk with benefits with may be instant or observed in a long term. Surgeons are to be transparent on revealing the adverse effects to the patient and considering whether the surgery is safe to be performed or is to be dropped. This principle disregarded may cause harm to the patient.
According to the third pillar of autonomy, the patient will make the final decision whether they want to undergo the surgery. They have the complete right to reject or walk out of surgery if they feel it is not beneficial to them. Surgeons will explain all the pros and cons with medical evidence to the patient with transparency from minor to major complications that may occur during the procedures. The complete procedure from beginning to end will be made sure to be understood by the patient. In India patients above 18 years who are mentally sound and can understand their medical condition are free to make their choice without the consent of family members and others. Patients give informed consent to undergo surgery, in the case of minors the parents and guardians are responsible to sign the informed consent and decide about surgery. The medical data about the patient will be maintained confidential, which is the core ethic of maintaining professionalism and the doctor-patient relationship.
The fourth pillar of medical ethics is justice. Surgeons treat all the patients equally despite socioeconomic status, gender, age, region, etc. The resources and quality of treatment are equally provided for all the patients. This is the pillar of fairness, which brings better surgical outcomes despite the barriers that separate people in society.
Plastic surgery is advancing with developing technology and surgical techniques. The surgery performed in safe hands may eradicate many potential health hazards as the equilibrium of health can be maintained by the trained and skilled medical professional alone. The medical profession is more of morality, human ethics, and providing the best healthcare services to restore the health of the society than business alone. With good infrastructure, with state of the art facilities, skilled plastic surgeons with moral ethics can create a miracle in the lives of people by reconstruction of body parts lost to deadly diseases or trauma and enhancing appearance and functionality.
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