Why is fixing deformities considered cosmetic surgery?

[I_Speak_Jive]

Firstly I never said that I was disable. Don't twist around what was said.

 

Secondly my ears are not large. They are not attached to my head. It is a deformity. How about you learn the facts?

 

Better yet let me help educate you and everyone else who do not believe that it is a deformity.

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Look, OBVIOUSLY your ears have to be attached to your head at some point, unless you are carrying them around in your pocket. And again I am sorry, but all those links show me are a bunch of private surgeons talking about the things they can do to your supposedly defective ears if you give them money. They can call you deformed all they want, but they have an agenda and you are buying into it. These people would look at my nose and tell me twelve things that they see wrong with it and three solutions for each of them, all of which involve me giving them money. And I love my friggin' nose.

 

All I am saying is, you are not deformed. There is nothing wrong with you. Change your ears if you want to, but don't be so mean to yourself and call yourself deformed. You wouldn't call a girl you loved "deformed" because her ears stuck out, would you?

 

So how about giving yourself the same decency then. Life is tough enough. You gotta be extra kind to yourself.

 

I am in no way trying to attack you here --quite the contrary. I am trying to get you to stop attacking yourself.

[Mr. Franklin]

I'm calling it how it is. Regardless if you consider it a deformity or not. Any doctor who is or who is not a surgeon will tell you the same thing. It is a deformity.

[agent1607307371]

So you don't believe people have deformities?

 

 

There is a guy who works in my office whose left arm curls like a wing and he doesn't have anything like a full range of motion. That's a deformity. I know a girl who had an arm that didn't develop properly in the womb. That's a deformity. They manage to have jobs and friends and relationships. (Interestingly we also manage to have two doctors in our department who each have lost an arm. My sister has a terrible crush on one.)

 

Ears that stick out, while maybe not aesthetically desirable according to the norm are not a deformity. They're an idiosyncrasy.

[Cognitive_Canine]

I'm calling it how it is. Regardless if you consider it a deformity or not. Any doctor who is or who is not a surgeon will tell you the same thing. It is a deformity.

 

They might be telling you that so that you'll pay them money though.

[Mr. Franklin]

There is a guy who works in my office whose left arm curls like a wing and he doesn't have anything like a full range of motion. That's a deformity. I know a girl who had an arm that didn't develop properly in the womb. That's a deformity. They manage to have jobs and friends and relationships. (Interestingly we also manage to have two doctors in our department who each have lost an arm. My sister has a terrible crush on one.)

 

Ears that stick out, while maybe not aesthetically desirable according to the norm are not a deformity. They're an idiosyncrasy.

 

Abnormal arms are deformities but abnormal ears are not? That's a unfair and bias double standard.

 

I'll stop arguing and debating now before I get another warning in this topic.

[agent1607307371]

Abnormal arms are deformities but abnormal ears are not? That's a unfair and bias double standard.

 

I'll stop arguing and debating now before I get another warning in this topic.

 

Do your ears affect your hearing? Are they under developed?

[Mr. Franklin]

They are disfigured. Here is more proof. I have never been on a forum with members who always accuse me of lying.

 

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[Cognitive_Canine]

We're not accusing you of lying.

 

But, "deformed" is very subjective. And there is very much a lot worse out there such as what Agent described.

[avman]

Nobody here accused you of lying. There is a disagreement about something being categorized as "deformed" and thus an insurance company being obligated to pay for it.

[savignon]

Have you had the opportunity to speak with your insurance company directly to see what their policies/definitions/guidelines are? Maybe they have an approved list of surgeons you could consult with....?? Have you found out how much the surgery would cost out of pocket, and if so, is it an ammount you can save for/would be willing to pay?

Do you feel that your appearance is holding you back somehow? Obviously you have some concerns or you wouldn't be investigating the issue. Are there any other ways you could deal with those concerns if you don't have or aren't willing to pay the costs of surgery?

[Mr. Franklin]

We're not accusing you of lying.

 

But, "deformed" is very subjective. And there is very much a lot worse out there such as what Agent described.

 

Nobody here accused you of lying. There is a disagreement about something being categorized as "deformed" and thus an insurance company being obligated to pay for it.

 

People have accused me of lying. I have shown plenty of evidence of what is labeled as deformed. There cannot be anything disagreement because I have shown plenty of medical evidence.

[Cognitive_Canine]

People have accused me of lying. I have shown plenty of evidence of what is labeled as deformed. There cannot be anything disagreement because I have shown plenty of medical evidence.

 

It's not a thing that you can have evidence for though. It's not something you can measure.

[Mr. Franklin]

It's not a thing that you can have evidence for though. It's not something you can measure.

 

I have posted links to many sites assuring my statements. Abnormal body parts are deformities.

 

So there is no evidence to say that a man born without is deformed?

[Cognitive_Canine]

I have posted links to many sites assuring my statements. Abnormal body parts are deformities.

 

So there is no evidence to say that a man born without is deformed?

 

But what is considered abnormal?

 

Is a person with an ugly face deformed? Wide set eyes? Pidgeon toed? Toe thumbs?

 

Where is the line drawn? From what you've described, everyone has a deformity.

[Mr. Franklin]

But what is considered abnormal?

 

Is a person with an ugly face deformed? Wide set eyes? Pidgeon toed? Toe thumbs?

 

Where is the line drawn? From what you've described, everyone has a deformity.

 

I did not just described everyone has a deformity.

 

You do have a point about the ugly face. As I said the line drawn when a body part is not shaped normally. What I mean by normally is that the majority of the population have body parts that are shaped in a particular way. For example arms, ears, eyes, feet, and legs are normally the same size.

[annie24]

Insurance companies want to make money, and they want to limit the amount of money they spend on peoples' health care because they don't want to lose money. You should watch the movie "Sicko" by Michael Moore. Health insurance companies care about their bottom line, and there are so many peoples' lives ruined because the companies won't pay for chemotherapy or some other treatment against life-threatening illnesses. It doesn't surprise me one bit they won't pay for your ears. That's the least of their worries.

[annie24]

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Chubby infant denied health care coverage because of a "pre-existing condition."

[bulletproof]

Bottom line is, whether it's officially considered a deformity or not, you have something about yourself that you'd like to change.

 

You have a couple of choices: 1) fight the insurance company, and if that fails, 2) raise the money yourself. What you should really look into is a medical vacation. Often, other countries outside of the US will perform surgeries for far less money than we pay here. I had my dental work done in South America, for example. People get gastric bypass in Mexico, sex changes in Thailand, and so on. It's usually about a third of the cost.

 

So instead of being angry and fighting the world, find a solution, or learn to accept this about yourself. What other choices do you have beyond those two?

[Mr. Franklin]

It is an official deformity. Please check my posts with links.

 

I spoke with my insurance and they said they will cover it only if my deformity causes problems. It is still a deformity, but since it is not causing any known problems then surgery will not be covered. Ear surgery and all other corrective surgeries are always considered to be elective regardless that they are official deformities.

 

As I said in the first post all physically deformities that do not cause medical problems are without any type of coverage.

[renaissancewoman101]

try to find a doctor that can help

[avman]

People have accused me of lying. I have shown plenty of evidence of what is labeled as deformed. There cannot be anything disagreement because I have shown plenty of medical evidence.

 

Yes there can. Even two doctors will disagree with a diagnosis when faced with the exact same medical situation. Opinions differ and that's something you will have to be willing to accept rather than claiming people are accusing you of lying. Not everyone is going to see it your way.

[Mr. Franklin]

Yes there can. Even two doctors will disagree with a diagnosis when faced with the exact same medical situation. Opinions differ and that's something you will have to be willing to accept rather than claiming people are accusing you of lying. Not everyone is going to see it your way.

 

It is an official deformity. I don't have to be willing to accept opinions of anyone. I can respect options, BUT NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THEM. Who made you boss to decided what I should accept? No doctor is legally allowed to lie about the diagnosis. I suggest you also research the subject. My deformity for example will be diagnosis the same to every doctor I go to. I have already provided enough proof. Go to any surgery site that deals with cosmetic surgery and it will be listed as a deformity. There is no other diagnosis for protruding ears.

 

People are accusing me of lying. I have shown evidence from many sites. How many more do you need?

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Ears affected by a birth deformity or a traumatic injury can be corrected with reconstructive ear surgery. Problems such as microtia (underdeveloped outer ear) and ear injuries can be treated with a variety of

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I am Charles Thorne, MD a Plastic Surgeon with an interest and 20 years of experience in the surgical correction of ear deformities of all types including prominent ears., deformities related to trauma or cancer, and other anomalies such as microtia

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Ear surgery can correct protruding ears (excessive ear cartilage), large or otherwise deformed earlobes

 

This is getting extremely offensive from most of you. It's like arguing if breast cancer is a cancer when 99.9999999% of all doctors will agree what breast cancer is. All plastic surgeons will agree that this is a deformity. Do you need more sites for proof? I think that is now over 10 sites. I suggest that everyone Google deformed ears and surgery, and you will find that every doctor will say it is a deformity.

[avman]

This thread is closed since you really do not want any advice.