Most people who undergo cosmetic surgery think “no pain, no gain” but that discomfort will end very soon as they recover from the operation. But they are wrong.
One out of eight people in Norway who underwent plastic surgery to look better said they suffer from chronic pain even a long time after the operation.
Researchers led by health psychologist Prof. Silje Endresen Reme of the University of Oslo surveyed 1,746 Norwegian adults, asking respondents whether they had undergone a cosmetic surgical procedure, if they had experienced chronic post-operative pain, and if they had sought treatment for this pain. They have just published their findings in the Scandinavian Journal of Pain under the title “Cosmetic surgery and associated chronic postsurgical pain: A cross-sectional study from Norway.”
Groundbreaking research
It is the first to examine the prevalence of cosmetic surgery among Norwegian adults since 2008. It is also the first to examine post-operative pain in adults undergoing various cosmetic surgery procedures. There is a notable lack of research on chronic post-operative pain from cosmetic surgery, with existing studies focusing on breast surgeries only. To address existing gaps in knowledge, they said, they aimed to investigate the self-reported prevalence of cosmetic surgery among adults in Norway.
Cosmetic surgery is becoming increasingly common worldwide but the prevalence of complications after cosmetic procedures, such as chronic post-operative pain, is not well understood.
10% of respondents said they had undergone cosmetic surgery, highlighting the increasing popularity of such procedures. Of these, one in four was aged 18-to-29 years old, and three in four were female.
Chronic post-operative pain was approximately five times more common in males than females. Two-thirds of those experiencing pain were aged 18 to 29, while those in other age groups experienced much less. Three out of four people who experienced pain sought treatment, suggesting that its effects were debilitating and bothersome.
While cosmetic surgeries are typically available from private clinics, those who experience post-operative pain are more likely to require care from public health clinics and hospitals, may not be able to work, and can suffer from a decreased quality of life.
“Considering the increasing acceptance and popularity of cosmetic surgery, it is vital for patients to be well-informed about potential complications,” said doctoral student Sophia Engel who was involved in the study.” She added that the condition is notoriously hard to treat and a heavy burden on public healthcare and social welfare systems and that large-scale longitudinal studies further investigating the topic are urgently needed.