The rationale behind undergoing facial aesthetic or reconstructive surgery varies from person to person. There are those who seek out surgery to correct an injury or abnormality that was caused by a trauma, while others wish to correct an inherited deformity such as a cleft lip or deviated septum.
Some go under the knife purely for aesthetic purposes to achieve a certain look. In any case, the person is dissatisfied with their appearance; but could there be a mismatch between their view of themselves versus how the world perceives them?
Body Dysmorphia In Action
It’s normal to be critical of your own appearance every now and then. However, those with Body Dysmorphic Disorder suffer from an extreme form of obsessive-compulsive behavior. This OCD presents itself in the form of hyperfocusing on perceived flaws–so much so that these behaviors or thoughts impact their quality of life on a daily basis.
Take, for example, a scar that a young lady has on her face, a result of a childhood injury. It may be small and imperceivable to the eyes of her friend standing conversational distance from her; however, to the young lady it is all she thinks about. She is hyper-aware of the scar’s presence on her face and feels as if it’s the focus of attention. She’s unable to focus on her conversation or feel relaxed and comfortable in her own skin. She feels too self conscious and her mind is too preoccupied to engage in social scenarios.
Individuals with BDD become so preoccupied with their appearance that it takes a significant toll on their social and personal life. Furthermore, they may often seek multiple procedures in an attempt to fix this perceived flaw that may sometimes be unwarranted or superfluous.
BDD is present in about two percent of the general population, but one in five patients (20%) who seek cosmetic procedures suffer from BDD. Despite the disorder’s prevalence in cosmetic surgery patients–and the availability of validated screening tools for this disorder–regular screening for BDD is very rarely practiced by surgeons. Screening for BDD is a simple and effective way to mitigate the potentially damaging effects of undergoing surgery because of an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
How Surgeons Can Help BDD Patients
As facial cosmetic procedures grow in popularity, it’s becoming increasingly important to screen for BDD. Patients and physicians deserve the opportunity to appropriately weigh the risks and benefits of surgical intervention before the procedure goes ahead.
For those patients deemed high risk for BDD, we feel that using the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ) is an excellent screening tool to help guide our clinic decisions and plans with our patients. It’s best practice to screen patients–especially those seeking facial cosmetic and dentoalveolar procedures–with the BDDQ. Responses are used to weigh the severity of the disorder with the BDDQ severity scale.
The BDDQ is an efficient way to screen for BDD in patients who are seeking orthognathic or facial cosmetic surgery. Our recent study showed that patients seeking facial cosmetic surgery scored significantly higher on the BDDQ than those presenting for dentoalveolar surgery.
Ultimately, the BDDQ is an efficient and cost effective way to aid surgeons in their consultation with their patients.
For more information about BDD or the BDDQ screening method, get in touch with us today.
