An online article disusses how a Chinese man, Zhao Gang, has talked his wife into getting plastic surgery. As if that isn’t shocking enough, his reason is even more absurd. Gang had lost his first wife in a tragic car accident and was devasted. He has said that he wishes he had died with her. His parents had convinced him to re-marry, and he is now asking his current wife to get plastic surgery in order to look like his former wife. Gang’s wife, Cai says “I feel conflicted. I don’t want to become another’s shadow, but I also don’t want to lose the family. Now I only hope the surgery will not make me look ugly.” Despite her mixed feelings, she has agreed to the surgery. However, the plastic surgeon they have consulted with has insisted that they pursue counseling.
I think it’s a good thing they have contacted a surgeon with moral values. I hope they take her advice, but with the situation being so dysfunctional, I wouldn’t be surprised if they sought a doctor who is a willing to do the surgery. I think many people turn to plastic surgery in an effort to heal internal wounds; they feel that they will be more complete as a person. I think it is a surgeon’s responsibility to be wary of patients like these. The strange thing about this situation is that Gang is persuading someone else to get plastic surgery in order to heal himself.
