The need for psychological support before choosing corrective treatment - case report

Abstract:

Procedures in corrective dermatology and cosmetic surgery are specific in the medical practice because they are offered as options, and are sometimes exclusive to the wishes of the patients and their need to feel better in their body. In scientific literature, patients who are dissatisfied with the outcome of the medical procedure are often referred to, yet a part of them are still prone to seeking new procedures on the same or different body parts. When the patient’s motivation for undergoing corrective surgery is due to the preoccupation of an imaginary defect in appearance or due to an excessive dissatisfaction with a smaller physical specificity, then it is most likely that the patient suffers from body dysmorphia. It was found that patients would have more benefit from pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, than from corrective surgery. In addition to diagnostic problems in clinics, there is a new problem related to the question of how to persuade a patient into a psychiatric consultation when the patient is unaware of the psychological aspects of their condition. 

Key words:
body dysmorphic disorder; dysmorphophobia