Introduction: Plastic surgery is the medical specialty that enables moulding and reforming the human body. Cosmetic surgery can improve aesthetic appearance and subsequently self-esteem and self-confidence. Over the past 20 years, much of the research on the psychological aspects of aesthetic plastic surgery has focused on the psychological construct of body image. This study aims to investigate whether aesthetic surgery has an effect on an individual´s body image, body satisfaction and general self-esteem in the Cyprus population.
Material and methods: Questionnaire data from 128 cosmetic surgery patients in a Plastic Surgery Clinic in Nicosia, obtained at two time points: one week before and three months after the surgery. The questionnaire was developed by the authors for the purpose of this study and consisted of measures on body image, body satisfaction and self-esteem. Pre- and postoperative values were compared.
Results: The majority were women (81.9%) and respondents mean age was 35.35 years. One out of two participants who responded has undergone breast augmentation (47.6%). Prior to treatment, only 7.3% of participants reported they were very satisfied with their physical appearance/body image, while after treatment this figure rose to 38.6%. Before treatment, 17.7% of the participants reported they felt bad/very bad about their body during sex and this dropped to 2.5% after the treatment.
Conclusions: The study provides evidence of improvement in individuals satisfaction with their body image and self-confidence after an aesthetic surgery. .
Keywords: Aesthetic surgery; Cyprus population; body image; body satisfaction; self-esteem.