Esthetic plastic surgery: Experiencies concerning corporal (re) constructions and implications for nursing

Abstract

Objective: to identify reasons which lead healthy subjects to search, for the first time, surgical methods for corporalmodifications. Methods: it is a descriptive, exploratory and qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structuredinterviews which were recorded. The interviews were made with eight women and resulted into four analytic categories.Results: the reasons which took healthy subjects to face surgical risks are regarding the improvement of the satisfactionwith their own corporal image aiming at reaching a higher social insertion. It was observed that dissatisfaction concerningphysical appearance was generated by inherited characteristics or by marks left after pregnancy. Financial cost, fear andfamily support, can make the decision to undergo the surgery difficult. Conclusion: the plastic surgery can promote theregain of self-esteem in the subject who makes the surgery.