Heidi Montag’s Plastic Surgery—What We Have Learned from Her Story

In November 2009, then 23-year-old reality TV star Heidi Montag had 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day; these include ear pinning, liposuction to the neck, butt augmentation, eyebrow lift, chin reduction, Botox in the forehead, revision breast augmentation to further increase her implant size, and fat injection in the cheeks and lips.

Meanwhile, it was not the first time Montag had gone under the knife.  At the age of 21, she had a nose job, lip augmentation via collagen injection, and breast implant surgery.

Just shortly after the procedures, Montag said she was very happy with her transformation and even claimed that she has started to become more confident with her new image.  

 “I never felt so beautiful and sexy,” Montag said during an interview.

But a year after her transformation, she has changed her tune and said that she regretted having nearly-dozen surgeries which she claimed have resulted to “painful and embarrassing scars” all over her body.

“I would love not be plastic girl,” she was quoted saying.

Perhaps her dissatisfaction with the results of her plastic surgeries all boils down to one thing: she is not a good candidate for cosmetic procedures in the first place.

While cosmetic plastic surgery can have a positive impact on a person’s self-esteem and body image, this would not be the case if one is suffering from body dysmorphic disorder or BDD, a condition Montag may have.

People with BDD are excessively concerned about their appearance to the point that they develop imaginary defects in either one feature or several areas of their body.

Aside from being a bad candidate in the first place, Montag has pushed the limit of her body.  Always bear in mind that longer operating time from multiple procedures results to higher surgical trauma, more bleeding, more risks, and prolonged recovery.

However, what is more surprising is that Montag’s doctor has agreed to conduct 10 procedures all at the same time.  This practice is very uncommon, in fact most board-certified plastic surgeons would likely decline to perform this on their patients due to higher risk of complications.

For patients who are considering drastic transformation through cosmetic plastic surgery, many experts suggest that this should be done slowly over the years; in this way, there will be enough time to get used to the new appearance.

Another benefit is that the body has enough time to recover from the surgical trauma, reducing the risk of complications and avoiding poor results.