Evaluation of results in aesthetic plastic surgery: Preliminary observations on mammaplasty

Aesthetic plastic surgery has received nide public attention in the past fe w years. Expectations of patients regarding results have been exaggerated; the real place and medical importance of the procedures are still not clear because of a lack of more objective evidence. This study discusses the dif ficulties encountered related to the scientific evaluation of the aesthetic operations and proposes alternatives for assessment. A frequently performe d procedure, reduction mammaplasty, is presented as an example, with its sp ecific evaluation.