Plastic surgery suffers from a fundamental dichotomy between reconstructive surgery (often considered as the “therapeutic” and “noble” part of the specialization) and cosmetic surgery (often considered as the most commercial part). But the medical procedure is a unitary and systematic process, which can be considered as completed only at the end of the two important moments, first the removal of the weak part of the body, then giving back to the body its integrity. It is clear that the objective/subjective or reconstructive/aesthetic are dichotomies that have to be surpassed. They produce misunderstanding or may even damage the purpose of plastic surgery. The search for beauty doesn’t have to be reduced to its subjective dimension or to a rush toward an ideal objective perfection. Beauty must improve the quality of life in general, in an attempt to exceed the physical and relational problems of the patient. In this sense, cosmetic surgery doesn’t exclusively answer to pathological desires but it contributes to the integral development of the person for these reasons.
Keywords: Ethics, plastic surgery, beauty, health
Paolo Persichetti, Mauro Barone, Annalisa Coliandro, Vittoradolfo Tambone, Nicolò Scuderi, Bioethics and Plastic Surgery in "RIVISTA TRIMESTRALE DI SCIENZA DELL’AMMINISTRAZIONE" 4/2015, pp. 107-120, DOI:10.3280/SA2015-004004