Plastic Surgeon: “Therefore, it is important to choose the right clinic.”
Marie Forséni Flodin has worked as a plastic surgeon for seventeen years. For her, the job has always been a perfect combination between her interest in the human body and having a close dialogue with the patient. At her office in Stockholm, she addresses all possible patients, but especially those who want to restore the body’s former shape.
“I like helping people by making them feel good. To me it has always been important to understand what the patient wants to achieve – but also what is reasonable to strive for. “
In Sweden, the number of plastic surgery procedures has increased by 15% each year. Increasingly men choose to carry out interventions even though the statistics are dominated by women. On the question of whether she believes that the increase is worrying, Marie responds; “It’s a common misconception that plastic surgery is an extreme choice. Only the word is controversial. Many believe that plastic surgery means huge breasts, big lips and so on, but this view is completely wrong. Media always portrays the bestselling stories, so many people see a connection between plastic surgery and horror stories or exaggerated examples.
She corrects her doctor’s coat and shows some examples of what her work can look like.
“My work is creative” she says, browsing a photo album, “Each intervention is unique and each patient has different goals.”
She picks a page from the book and turns it over to display it. The woman in the picture is in her thirties and has a flat bust.
On the next picture, the breasts are larger and well-formed.
“Want to fix something”
Marie points to the picture and explains how the patient wanted to feel more feminine. The lack of breasts made her feel uncomfortable with her body, because her perception of femininity is in part in having some kind of bust. “It’s about restoring what the patient perceives ‘should’ be there. Some patients feel they lack something or want to fix something. It is therefore not about doing anything excessive or ugly. I would not agree to that“.
Marie folds the book and leans back into the office chair.
“The biggest problem with plastic surgery is that there are no laws in Sweden that say you have to be a trained surgeon to perform the surgery. At worst, it may be an junior doctor or an unskilled surgeon who operates.”
Surgery can be dangerous
At present, Sweden is the only country in Europe that lacks legislation on beauty procedures. This is even though these types of surgeries increase every year.
“Anyone can call themselves an aesthetic surgeon. I think the actual perception of plastic surgery is that it’s not a ‘real’ operation, but just a little amount of substance injected into the body here and there, but it is not. The interventions are in many cases extensive and they can be just as risky as any procedure. Performing an operation always involve a risk, so it’s completely absurd that a physician without competence can perform them. Plastic surgeons have a great responsibility, and if you do not accept that responsibility, extreme cases will show up, such as we have seen in the media, where patients carry out operations that they regret later.
“Marie has a lot of experience in working with plastic surgery, and therefore feels safe in her line of work. She does not hesitate to say no to an operation that she does not consider will result in a good result. She is currently receiving patients at the Nordic Center for Surgery in Linkoping.
Finally, Marie emphasizes the importance of choosing the right clinic and, as a patient, conducting proper investigations to ensure that the clinic is legitimate and that the doctor is competent. She advises her patients to investigate whether the plastic surgeon belongs to “Swedish Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery”, where members must, among other things, have at least five years of experience in aesthetic surgery.
“The greatest concerns of many patients, for example, is the drug that is going to be used, but the concern should lie in who performs the operation. It is by far the most important. Choosing the right clinic and the right plastic surgeon. “
