For over 30 years, Youthful Images has been a leader in plastic surgery and non-surgical aesthetics in Connecticut. As pioneers in cosmetic innovation, we were the first to offer both advanced laser treatments and full surgical and med spa services in one location. On this page, we address common myths about plastic surgery to help patients understand the truth, so you can make informed choices and trust your beauty to the experts who set the standard in aesthetics.
Myth #1: Plastic surgery is only for women.
Truth: That’s just not true. Many men seek plastic surgery today. There are several procedures, from facial enhancement to reverse a tired look—men often feel they’re not competitive at work anymore—to gynecomastia surgery, where men have enlarged breast tissue, to body shaping. We also have a very active hair restoration clinic. So men are part of the mix.
Myth #2: Plastic surgery is all about vanity.
Truth: That’s not true. We definitely have people who come in with very specific things that bother them. It affects their self-image, and it may affect the way others perceive them. They’re not looking to change who they are, but they want to feel better about themselves. It’s not about vanity—it’s about being comfortable in your body and looking as good as you feel.
Myth #3: Results are permanent without maintenance.
Truth: That’s not true. We can get very good, natural results that last a long time, but they’re not permanent. If you do nothing to maintain them—if you go out and continue to bake in the sun or make nutritional choices that accelerate aging—they’re not going to hold up well. Procedures that help maintain results, for example laser resurfacing, microneedling, and using the right products, are all important in the maintenance of your plastic surgery.
Myth #4: “It’s always obvious when someone has had work done.”
Truth: That’s not true if the surgery is done by a board-certified plastic surgeon who understands the morphology of someone’s features and has the artistic talent to create a result that is very natural looking.
Myth #5: “Non-surgical treatments are just as effective as surgery.”
Truth: That is a difficult question, because minimally invasive procedures are not the same as surgery and they have different indications. So, as far as busting a myth, we have to take away the idea that anything non-surgical is equal to a surgical procedure. You can do an awful lot with non-surgical procedures if you’re acting early and don’t have major structural changes. If things are dropping or elongated from weight loss or aging, many times you need a surgical procedure to realign and resupport those structures.
Myth #6: “Recovery takes forever and is extremely painful.”
Truth: That’s not necessarily true in the right hands. We’ve developed several techniques to minimize the length of time necessary to recover from a procedure, in addition to reducing the amount of pain associated with it. So I’ll bust that myth.
Myth #7: “Scars will be huge and noticeable.”
Truth: Well, that's unfortunately not true. Uh there's nothing we can do to stop aging. Uh we can support the aging process. We can reverse some of the aging process and delay the inevitable, but aging is just a natural part of our lives.
Myth #8: “Any doctor can safely perform plastic surgery.”
Truth: Well, that's a myth because not any doctor is uh board certified in plastic surgery and has uh gone through the extensive training necessary to achieve board certification in that field. uh the techniques are very very highly specialized in order to obtain excellent results.
Myth #9: “Plastic surgery is too expensive for most people.”
Truth: Well, that probably was true at some point in time. However, today with uh the financing options that are offered for plastic surgery, it's really quite reasonable with sometimes uh 18 to 24 months of interestf free plans and uh they can invest in themselves just as they would any other commodity and it's very affordable.
Myth #10: "Scars will be huge and noticeable.”
Truth: That’s not true in the hands of capable surgeons. We definitely make a scar—I mean, whenever you make an incision, you make a scar. But the scars that we design are hidden for the most part. We try to blend them into other areas, with artistic design to where we place the incisions, so we can minimize the amount of scarring. Now, how someone scars is really independent to that person, and it’s not always predictable—whether they’re a thick scar former or whether they develop a keloid. But we have to be able to manage these as they occur.
Myth #11: “Liposuction is a weight loss procedure.”
Truth: That is absolutely false. Liposuction does nothing to make you lose weight. Liposuction is a contouring procedure. It can shape areas that are disproportionate to other areas, but it definitely should not be used as a weight-loss procedure.
Myth #12: “Plastic surgery makes you look fake or plastic.”
Truth: That is false in the hands of a capable surgeon—someone with an artistic eye and the capability to technically achieve a natural look. “Fake” and “plastic” looks happen when things are overdone or not positioned properly for your features. That’s why a board-certified plastic surgeon recognizes this and has been trained to not make you look plastic.
