According to Singapore Medical Council guidelines, doctors are encouraged to take reasonable care to ensure that patients do not have psychological or psychiatric illnesses involving self and body image before providing aesthetic procedures to them.
They must also not exploit patients’ vulnerabilities and insecurities about self-esteem and perception of body image.
When advertising or advising on aesthetic procedures, doctors must recognise patients’ expectations and give objective and comprehensive information to patients about the procedures as well as what outcomes may be reasonably expected.
They also must not feature “before-and-after” or only “after” visuals in advertisements, only during consultation and with proper context.
Ultimately, experts said the safest move for patients is to do their homework and be sure of their choice before committing to any procedure.
Deejay and online personality Jade Rasif, who often shares her experiences with plastic surgery on social media, echoed the sentiment.
She was just 19 when she first went for a breast enlargement procedure in Thailand. She has since gone through other treatment including lip fillers and botox.
While she is happy with most of the procedures, she regrets one that changed the aesthetics of her nose.
“My father is Middle Eastern and Slavic, and he had this really amazing big nose. Now, when I look at old pictures of myself, I feel kind of sad that I no longer have that ethnic feature. I wish I held on to my ethnic features and that I didn’t dislike it so much (when I was younger),” she told CNA.
When asked if she had any advice for those contemplating plastic surgery, she said it should not be seen as a “quick fix” for body image issues, and should be properly thought out before going under the knife.
“When people get surgery, especially at a young age, including myself, you are sort of trying to make yourself fit an ideal, and that ideal is somebody else’s ideal,” she said.
“So, when you’re thinking of cost-cutting or thinking of getting procedures, please think, 10 to 20 years (from now), are you going to be happy with it?”
