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Practitioners will likely encounter significant ethical dilemmas during their professional careers. As these issues arise, practitioners will be required to analyze ethical issues and evaluate available choices. This case study discusses such an ethical dilemma in the context of aesthetic plastic surgery. The aesthetic provider is confronted with the question of whether or not to provide an ethically questionable procedure. The thought process discussed here can be extended beyond aesthetic medicine to all practitioners facing ethical dilemmas. An analysis of the principles of bioethics was undertaken. The principles of bioethics were then applied to the dilemma faced by the practitioner. Finally, a practical, 4-step system was constructed to be incorporated by the practitioner to guide in making ethically sound decisions.
Keywords: bioethics; ethics; aesthetic procedures
In the United States, approximately 11 million people have aesthetic plastic surgery or nonsurgical procedures annually (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2014). Many of these cases raise serious ethical concerns for health care providers. This provides fertile ground for all practitioners to analyze ethical issues and evaluate choices in their respective practices. Despite the extensive number of ethical issues that aesthetic practitioner's face, a relatively small proportion of plastic surgery literature has been dedicated to discussing ethical principles (Chung, Pushman, & Bellfi, 2009). This case scenario is used as a basis for discussing the more common ethical dilemmas faced by clinicians who perform aesthetic procedures.
Patient Presentation
The patient is a legally blind female who presented to the office to request facial rejuvenation. Upon initial consultation, the provider learned that the patient's desire for a facial procedure was not related to her own visual perception of her appearance because she is blind. The desire stemmed f rom the feedback she had received from others. Upon initial examination, the provider saw no obvious need for any procedure to be performed. The patient, however, strongly desired such work to improve her self-esteem, confidence, and appearance to others.
Ethical Dilemma
The provider is conf ronted by a patient who, the provider feels, will not benefit from the elective procedure. In other words, should the provider respect the patient's autonomy in making the decision to have the procedure, or should the provider intervene when he or she believes that the patient...