Eating Disorders and Plastic Surgery (09-2002)
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, reports that eight million people in the United States are affected by one form or another of an eating disorder.
Bulimia, the obsession to binge and purge, affects both men and women. Research indicates that nearly twenty percent of women in the United States may be suffering from bulimia. Eating disorders cross age, social and economic lines, usually beginning in the teenage years.
Because people with bulimia often manage to stay within normal weight limits, it is often difficult to recognize the problem. Most patients keep their symptoms a secret because they are embarrassed about their problem.
It is important to be alert and aware of the this potential problem in order to arrange for proper treatment if the illness is detected. Extreme dieting or purging are two symptoms of the illness. Most people who suffer from eating disorders have poor self-image, low self-esteem levels and unrealistic expectations.
Plastic surgeons need to be particularly on guard for the symptoms of eating disorders because many such patients look to liposuction as a “cure.” Performing liposuction on a bulimic patient may well be dangerous not only because the outcome may be poor, but even more so because the procedure may exacerbate (i.e., worsen) the underlying, existing psychological problems.
Bulimia, the obsession to binge and purge, affects both men and women. Research indicates that nearly twenty percent of women in the United States may be suffering from bulimia. Eating disorders cross age, social and economic lines, usually beginning in the teenage years.
Because people with bulimia often manage to stay within normal weight limits, it is often difficult to recognize the problem. Most patients keep their symptoms a secret because they are embarrassed about their problem.
It is important to be alert and aware of the this potential problem in order to arrange for proper treatment if the illness is detected. Extreme dieting or purging are two symptoms of the illness. Most people who suffer from eating disorders have poor self-image, low self-esteem levels and unrealistic expectations.
Plastic surgeons need to be particularly on guard for the symptoms of eating disorders because many such patients look to liposuction as a “cure.” Performing liposuction on a bulimic patient may well be dangerous not only because the outcome may be poor, but even more so because the procedure may exacerbate (i.e., worsen) the underlying, existing psychological problems.
