By: Gus Galante, MD

I recently saw a book (actually a book review – you can read it here) that piqued my interest because it was talking about a study that showed how self-perceptions can reverse the process of physical aging. Obviously, if you think you’re old, you’ll feel old, but as a cosmetic surgeon I’ve also seen patients whose breast enhancement or tummy tuck seems to correct a lot more of the physical characteristics of aging than the surgery alone could explain.

Basics about the study: In this study, researchers had older people talking and acting for a few weeks as if they were really living in 1956. The really dramatic thing was that afterward, these people had less arthritis, higher intelligence test scores, and other measurable, physical evidence that they had taken years off of their age just by seeing themselves as “younger.”

Plastic Surgery Example: Breast Enlargement

Very often, women don’t just look younger and sexier after breast enlargement in Indiana – they ARE younger and sexier. A woman who feels confident with her body holds herself differently and makes different decisions about what kind of physical activity she can handle. As a result she can look younger, stronger, and happier.

Of course, it’s not reasonable to expect breast enhancement in Indiana to do all sorts of things that the surgery just isn’t designed to do. But I think it’s a good idea for patients to keep in mind how much the positive results of their procedure contribute to how they think and feel about themselves.