The fact that we humans are not satisfied with our visual appearance is old hat. What other reason could there be for the majority of people working out in the gym? Apart from performance-oriented athletes, the reason is usually simply the desire to look better. As some people can't get there fast enough, and there are certainly things that can't be changed naturally, the cosmetic surgery market is booming. Liposuction? No problem! Remove the hump on your nose? No problem! Just add two cup sizes? That too is now standard.
But what certainly does not fall into the category of standard procedures is the removal of ribs to achieve an extremely narrow wasp waist, just like Barbie. Sounds too crazy to be true? Not at all, because in addition to the Swedish woman Pixee Fox, who had the procedure carried out years ago, she also recently had her ribs removed. Sophia Wollersheim remove four ribs at once.
Why do you do that? What are the consequences if we undergo such interventions in favor of an ideal of beauty? And doesn't such an intervention actually contradict the Hippocratic Oath?
Media-effective rib removal in Beverly Hills
As we all know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sophia Wollersheim's rib removal has literally become the focus of attention, as the woman who is often quoted as saying "Beauty is more important to me than my life" had her plastic surgery accompanied by a camera team from the TV channel RTL. For her dream of a wasp waist, she traveled to Los Angeles with bag and baggage and not only had two ribs removed on each side, but also had 3 liters of fat suctioned out and injected into her bottom to perfect her buttocks. However, as the statistics show, Ms. Wollersheim is no longer an isolated case. On the contrary, such a trend seems to be emerging in plastic surgery. Reason enough for doctors such as Professor Ulrich Kneser, plastic surgeon and director of a clinic in Ludwigshafen, to sound the alarm and warn against this dangerous trend.
Why do we need our ribs at all?
A look at the functions of our ribs explains why this desire for more "beauty" can actually take on life-threatening proportions. Our 24 ribs are arranged in pairs and run from the spine towards the sternum, with some pairs of ribs firmly attached to the sternum. The ribs give our ribcage its typical shape and enclose vital internal organs such as the heart and lungs like a protective cage. The spleen and liver are also protected by rib arches. The intercostal muscles located between the individual ribs are also involved in breathing, as they support the raising and lowering of the ribcage. If we had no ribs, the pressure in the body would cause the lungs to collapse, making breathing impossible.
Assuming you have one or even two pairs of ribs removed, you reduce the protective effect of the rib cage. The liver and spleen in particular will be severely affected.
Can complications occur during the operation?
However, before we take a closer look at any long-term consequences, we must of course also consider the potential dangers of such an operation. First of all, there are the obligatory risks associated with any operation, but especially with operations under general anesthesia. It is not for nothing that most doctors vehemently advise against operations that are not absolutely necessary for health reasons. Complications during anesthesia, inflammation and multi-resistant pathogens (MRSA) are always a risk factor, regardless of the qualifications of the doctors. There is also the specific risk that the pleura can be damaged during the operation. As part of this so-called pneumothorax, air enters the chest, which in the worst case can lead to the collapse of one or even both lungs. Furthermore, injuries to other organs and generally significant blood loss are also possible.
Imponderables and restrictions
Much more dangerous, however, are the possible Long-term consequences rib removal. As already mentioned, this means that important organs are partially or even completely lacking protection against external influences. If, for example, an accident or fall occurs, the risk increases enormously for people with missing ribs, whereas the same fall usually has a less serious outcome. Such an operation naturally also involves wearing particularly tight-fitting clothing to emphasize the wasp waist. However, this in turn results in enormous compression of the soft tissue, which can change the shape and position of organs. In combination with this constriction, rib removal can even impair breathing, as the chest cavity becomes significantly smaller. This is of course also noticeable during sport, if this is still possible at all. Strenuous activities are hardly possible due to the restricted breathing or possible pain. The saying: "If you want to be beautiful, you have to suffer" takes on a completely different meaning at this point.
But that's not all, because once the ribs have been removed, there is no way back. Once you have made such a decision, you will have to live with it for the rest of your life. Of course, this is also problematic in view of the fact that there are no long-term studies to date that measure the impact of such an operation over periods of 10, 20, 30 or even 50 years.
Interventions are currently not possible in Germany
However, the all-clear can be given on one point, because rib removal is not that easy to perform. In contrast to liposuction, skin tightening, rhinoplasty or the insertion of breast implants, rib removal for aesthetic reasons is not a standard procedure. This is why such operations are not performed in Germany or Austria, at least not yet.
Why do some people take this risk at all?
In answer to the question of what drives people to do such things to their bodies, we would like to end with Sophia Wollersheim. There are actually four reasons for cosmetic surgery. Firstly, actually useful corrections, such as the correction of a congenital disfigurement or following an accident. Secondly, the desire to improve something for whatever reason. Thirdly: Attracting attention as part of a targeted marketing campaign. And fourthly: the presence of so-called dysmorphia, which is the fear of not looking beautiful enough or disfigured. Doctors speak of dysmorphic disfigurement in particular when a procedure stands in stark contrast to the real body image, so that it cannot be understood from an objective point of view. Especially in view of the fact that Ms. Wollersheim staged her operation with the help of a camera team, we would like to leave it up to you to decide which reason for the operation you think is most likely.
What responsibility do plastic surgeons bear?
Regardless of the general reason for an intervention of this caliber, however, we should ask ourselves what responsibility the medical profession actually bears in this context. After all, they invoke the code of honor enshrined in the oath of Hippocrates not to harm people and only to intervene when necessary. This is a point that should definitely be considered in view of the overwhelming disadvantages. However, there is hope that responsible doctors will do a good job of educating patients and send them home with "dangerous" wishes, as is already the case in Germany in the run-up to 10 percent of cosmetic surgery procedures.
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