Gestalt nd Cosmetic Surgery

Gestalt, is a German word that means a whole or the form, a term that suggests that an item r an object is more nd different than the components which create it.
Gestalt defines the perception principles, what we see and how we see, perceive nd memorize. Since the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is important for us to comprehend how nd through which mechanisms we perceive the beauty.

No operation that is performed by a plastic surgeon who does not take these perception principles into account, can be successful. With or without intention, mission of a plastic surgeon is to successfully perform the transformation of the patient set forth by these principles. Below, you can find the prospectus related to this issue;

Let us review these principles one by one,

1. Background-form principle: Every form emerges and vanishes on a background. Depending on this relation with the background, objects or forms emanate and catch attention or stay on the background and perceived as they are. Accordingly, an example in the face cosmetic surgery field is the nose/cheekbone relation. As it is well known, the human face consists of nose-lips-brows and cheekbones (forms) located on an ellipsoid base (background). Nose of a person, who has flat nd broad cheekbones, is always perceived as protruding and large although it individually is not. When a patient with such facial features applies for a nose reduction surgery, a more harmonious complexion may be achieved by redefining the nose/face (background/form) relation through the correction of the cheekbones pursuant to the background-form principle. Pursuant to the Gestalt principles, individual beauty of the nose, brows or chin is not sufficient for the face, the base (background) that holds these forms together, to be perceived as beautiful. The feature that is sought after here is the harmony nd unity among them. This is called, in brief, image of an individual.

2. Proximity Law: Objects, which are located close to or apart from each other, are perceived as a whole. For instance, in facial esthetics, a nose is perceived as a multi-dimensional whole together with brow line, upper lip, cheekbones nd forehead in accordance with their angular locations. For instance, pursuant to the proximity law, an aquiline nose can look beautiful within the image of an individual depending on its consistency nd harmony with other structures of the face.

3. Continuance Law: According to this principle, structures that show continuity in the same direction are perceived together as a whole. If we continue the above nose example, angular relation of a nose with the forehead, continuity of the brows on the middle line along with the lateral line of the nose and again, continuity of a theoretical line that lies from the chin through the upper lip up until the tip of the nose is perceived as consistent r inconsistent with the respective face in compliance with this principle. This perception is most utilized by sports car designers. Depending on the way a line that continues from the doors or fenders, we perceive a car as more sporty, muscular or elegant. Ferrari refers to tight-figured-flat look of a man’s abdominal muscles for the rear section of its cars, while Jaguar refers to the female shoulder line with the lateral lines that end with rear lights. With this sampling model, such concepts as silhouette or contour r profiloplasty have become more widely used. While this is the essence of the procedure, concepts are basically interpreted pursuant to these Gestalt principles.

4. Resemblance Law: Similar objects r structures tend to be perceived as a whole. For instance, we think any individual with slanted eyes a Japanese or a Chinese people. The best example in the body esthetics would be the relation between the ideal breast size and shoulder width.

5. Complementation Law: Our perception template that make us to perceive objects as a whole r a group, also tends to complement a missing part pursuant to this feature of us. We tend to complete any missing aspect of all events, situations nd objects with our knowledge nd experience until we receive any further information thereof. This is best described by the phrase, “we interpret objects not as they are but as what we are”. The best example for this principle is that you indeed read the letters “nd” and “r” contained in this text as “and” and “or” respectively.

6. Simplicity Principle: In general, the simpler the more beautiful, as, for instance, the most beautiful objects in the nature are those objects, which are simple, basic and can be described simply. This feature that is called natural beauty nd make us perceive anyone, who has it, esthetically more beautiful, expresses itself here as the Elegance. According to this theory, which called Occam’s Razor, “in an environment where everything is equal, the simplest explanation is the one that is closest to the truth”.

7. Prägnanz Law: We perceive objects that are meaningful, simple nd complete as beautiful. we perceive any image, object, event, person nd situation that is ambiguous, incomplete and complex, on the other hand, exhausting-difficult r esthetically not beautiful.