An article by Jane Brody in the New York Times, “When Your Looks Take Over Your Life,” draws attention to a tragic mental health issue called “body dysmorphic disorder.”
These are people who are obsessed about a “flaw” in some aspect of their bodily appearance, and who sometimes subject themselves to repeated rounds of cosmetic surgery to “cure” this problem. And of course the surgery never works because the problem is much deeper than the skin. A malpractice lawsuit is not the answer for these patients, as I explained in a comment on the New York Times’ “Well” blog:
As a malpractice attorney who represents patients, I have been consulted several times by potential clients whom I later realized had body dysmorphic disorder. When they called for the appointment, the story on the telephone was that they had been grotesquely disfigured by a cosmetic surgeon, often with repeat surgery. Then when I met them, I would not be able to see anything wrong with their appearance, even when they pointed it out to me.
One man in his mid-20s had had his nose operated on three times by the same surgeon. All I could see was that one nostril was slightly larger than the other. He was talking about needing to have yet another surgery. I politely urged him to see a psychiatrist first, and told him I could not represent him in any legal action against the surgeon.
My personal belief is that an ethical cosmetic surgeon would decline to operate on anyone with obvious signs of body dysmorphic disorder (if for no other reason than that this will be a hard-to-please patient), but a willing patient with the means to pay for the surgery can be persuasive for some surgeons, it seems. (Witness Michael Jackson.)
The legal system does not have good answers for these patients. A lawsuit would only perpetuate the patient’s idea that their appearance can be “fixed” and that it’s the doctor’s fault for not doing so. Still, my heart goes out to people with this disorder especially when they subject themselves to a fruitless round of surgeries. They definitely need counseling.
Read more comments on the Well blog here.