The decision to undergo cosmetic surgery is a choice to inflict permanent change to your body.
The desirable and visible changes may not be permanent but things will never go back to the way they were pre-surgery.
This simple fact is something not to be overlooked if you are among the thousands considering a facelift, breast augmentation or liposuction surgery - the three most popular cosmetic surgeries in the United States.
Breast Augmentation (Implants) The least permanent of the three most popular surgeries, implants will eventually burst or expire in a woman's body which will then have to be removed or replaced.
This is true regardless of the material that the implant is made of.
It is a matter of time before the results are undesirable and can potentially pose a health risk.
Facelift A facelift is designed to tighten the skin to produce a more youthful appearance.
The procedure helps reverse visibly wrinkled or sagging skin caused by weakened skin and muscle tissue.
It won't stop the aging process but a facelift will help set things back a few years and patients can expect it to last anywhere from five to ten years.
Many patients opt for a new treatment at that point.
This is one of the more permanent procedures.
More recently studies have been done tracking the progress of patients for five years after the date of their procedure and the results are quite positive.
The facelift that was designed to make the patient look 5 years younger continues to hold up and remains undetectable that the patient had any work done.
Liposuction The surgical removal of fat from specific area of the body has been around in its modern form since the mid-1980s.
Fat cells removed from the body are permanent and the body does not generate more fat cells.
But this does not mean that weight gain isn't possible.
The rest of the body will continue to work in the same manner as it always has.
This means that the fat that would normally be stored in the fat cells that have been removed will go to other cells that have not been removed.
Depending on the amount of weight gained, fat cells removed and the size of the treatment area there may be visible disproportional distribution of fat.
As long as the patient is able to maintain their body weight and not accumulate too much body fat, the results from liposuction surgery is quite permanent.