In this study, nursing student's attitude towards their appearance and cosmetic surgery was evaluated and compared with oral and maxillofacial surgeons' concept.
Methods: This was a description-analytical and cross-sectional study, which was carried out in the nursing faculty. 150 students were selected by convenient sampling. Each student completed a questionnaire that evaluated their attitude towards their appearance and cosmetic surgery. Each student was examined by two surgeons, and the surgeons completed a checklist assessing facial harmony and need for cosmetic surgical procedures. Data was analyzed by SPSS using T-student test, Kruskul Wallis test, Wilcoxon test, and Freidman and spearman correlation coefficient.
Results: 15.4% of students had negative attitude toward their appearance, 84.6% had positive attitude and 22% of students thought they needed cosmetic surgery. There was no significant difference between the 2 surgeon’s evaluations, except in regions of eyes and nose (P>0/05). However, there were significant differences between students’ self-perceptions regarding surgery compared to surgeons’ evaluations (p<0/05).
Conclusion: Student’s attitude to their appearance was positive and acceptance of cosmetic surgery was moderate. There was significant correlation between surgeons’ evaluations (P>0/05). However, there were significant differences between students’ self-perception and surgeons’ evaluations (P<0/05). As differences exist between students’ and surgeons’ opinions, it is important that surgeons evaluate patients' self-perception and motivations during consultation appointments.
Key Words: Self perception, Cosmetic surgery, Surgeon opinion.