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surgiholic (SUR.juh.hawl.ik) n. A person who seeks plastic surgery, from head to toe, and is never satisfied.

Example Citation:
To Sevinor, other reasons for cosmetic surgery are equally suspect. Some people, for instance, are hyper-perfectionists: "They'll point to a line or wrinkle that I have to put on my magnifying glasses to see. I'll never make that patient happy." Some are teen-agers who, believing themselves unpopular, look to facial surgery as a quick fix.

Some are patients Sevinor dubs "surgiholics," who "start at the top, work their way down, and repeat everything. No matter how many procedures they have, it's not enough."
—Madeline Drexler, "Cosmetic surgery won't please everyone," The Chattanooga Times, May 9, 1996

Earliest Citation:
Choosing the appropriate patient is as important as selecting the correct procedure. Physical appearance is one clue to determine whether he or she is a good candidate. Is the patient disheveled? Does he or she have a defect which is only minimal? Has the patient already had a number of plastic surgery procedures performed? In other words, is he or she a plasti-surgiholic?
—Sheldon J. Sevinor, "The psychology of beauty: what are the right reasons for plastic surgery?," USA Today (Magazine), September, 1994

Notes:
The earliest citation for this blend of surgery and the suffix -aholic (meaning, "one who appears to be addicted to something") is actually a variation on the word.

Related Words:
Botox party
cosmetic underclass
imagined ugliness
liposculpture
makeunder
milkaholic
perma-youth
pumping party
scar management
silver ceiling
umbilicoplasty

Subject Categories:
Culture - Appearance and Grooming
Science - Medicine
Sociology - Lifestyles
Sociology - People

Posted on February 2, 1996 at 6:30 AM


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