Psychiatric patients who desire aesthetic surgery: Identifying the problempatient

Plastic surgeons are often confronted with psychiatric patients seeking aes thetic surgery. It is imperative for surgeons to recognize underlying psych iatric illnesses and to acknowledge their influence over patient motives an d judgment. It is the goal of this paper to present the defining characteri stics of the major psychiatric disorders as illustrated in the Diagnostic a nd Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, in a manner that will allow plastic surgeons to incorporate and utilize this information in daily practice. It is the authors' hope that this paper will assist plasti c surgeons in ultimately preventing patient dissatisfaction within the popu lation of patients with psychiatric disorders.