I was a healthy, active woman before having cosmetic surgery. I had a pretty face and enjoyed my good looks.  I would have grown into an attractive older woman if I had not been enticed, like millions of women my age, into the misguided belief that the visage of old age is  unattractive;  a bad thing to be fought and overpowered with a vehemence and aggression formerly expended for the preservation of life, not looks. I was a professional Master Gardener, accomplished chef and artist who enjoyed sharing the fruits of my labor with family, friends and strangers.   Not any more.

Cosmetic surgery changed my life forever.   I exchanged my health and well-being for a life plagued with serious medical problems, disfigurement and constant pain. The catastrophic consequence of cosmetic surgery you will not find included in any informed consent document or hear uttered from any doctor's lips is the most devastating complication of all:  It is the quagmire of duplicity and conspiracy of silence in which the medical profession discards the victims of its mistakes. 

In an attempt to bring honesty and accountability to the specialty of cosmetic plastic surgery, I participated in HBO's documentary film  'Plastic Disasters'  hoping it would  raise public awareness of the real risks rarely reported in the media.
 
I became interested in videography  when the importance of visual documentation  played a major role in a lawsuit filed by a surgeon in an attempt to force removal of my photographs from the Internet.    I  began keeping a video diary after my second  botched surgery to document changes in facial animation which still photographs cannot depict.  I never planned to share the tapes with anyone and wanted them revealed only after my death.    Then I was asked to participate in the  film project by  award winning documentary filmmakers, Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, who read about my experience online.  In spite of their abuse of my trust in editing footage out of context, giving the viewer a misguided portrayal of my experience, overall, I believe the film served its purpose in revealing the ugly side of cosmetic surgery.

For every botched operation reported in the media,  there are literally THOUSANDS  of patients whose lives have been destroyed by surgery they did not need. 

I hope every surgeon  performing cosmetic procedures on  normal anatomy will take a hard, inward look at their willingness to use their skills (or lack thereof)  in the ethically questionable practice of subjecting healthy people to the risks of surgery to conform with some unrealistic notion of "beauty".

Who benefits?  When a  patients  money is in the doctor's bank account before going into the OR, the answer is simple.  Because a practice becomes accepted and widespread does not mean it is ethical or good.   It only proves how easily people  can be manipulated and brainwashed.

http://groups.msn.com/LosingFace