Anyone who's into pouring over entertainment tabloids has come across plastic surgery horror stories, with matching pictures to lend credence to their statements. Those pictures indeed look scary but people can't help but stare with horrified fascination at those pictures, terrifying as they seem.

One common example is the case of Jocelyn Wildenstein. She's had a number of plastic surgeries and the pictures of her over time just show plastic surgery gone haywire. Another celebrity for a plastic surgery horror story would be Kenny Rogers whose overdone facelift has rendered his face eternally with a surprised look.

You could be pondering over the possibility of having a breast augmentation and know of someone who's had bad breast implants and now you're having second thoughts. Stories range from peculiar dents in the breast skin to burst silicone or saline implants. These would make anyone think over and over about going through cosmetic plastic surgery.

You can't help but wonder if these stories are prevalent and your worry is well-founded.

Reality and Truth

In reality, these stories are certainly less prevalent and have just been blown up by the media. With good research to guide you to choose a qualified and experienced plastic surgeon, the first operation would have resolved your problem. With reasonable and proportionate goals, there is no reason why the cosmetic surgery you went through wouldn't do you well and last for the rest of your life.

You just should be aware of the existence of body dysmorphic disorder, a clinically characterized mental disease. This condition is an obsession with facial or body traits, an overly exaggerated criticism of one's self that can shatter your self-esteem.

Research results say that this disorder afflicts 12% of plastic surgery patients, or 1 in 50 people. These are the patients who go after repeated operations on the same body part because they can not get satisfied with the results.

The celebrity horrors bandied about in the tabloids are often suffering from this disorder. Their faces had reached that grotesque point because they had recurring surgeries done on the same feature, resulting in those "plastic surgery gone bad" photos prominently displayed by the paparazzi.

Some follow-up surgeries are necessary. Non-invasive operations like peels need to be repeated to maintain the effects. Procedures as these need touch-ups to maintain the improvement done by the first operation. You should have your surgeon's advice and recommendation for a touch-up. S/he should have an exhaustive discussion during your initial consultation to find out if you have any tendencies for body dysmorphic disorder.