It is incumbent upon preoperative evaluators to understand the relevant roles eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction play in the evaluation and treatment of plastic surgery patients. Given the relationship between body image and plastic surgery, the assessment of eating disorders is central to preoperative psychological assessment. The value of preoperative screening for eating disorders is exemplified by recent research indicating postoperative risk for patients presenting with pathological eating (Hsu, Betancourt, & Sullivan, 1996; Willard, McDermott, & Woodhouse, 1996). This report will (1) provide a definitive background and discuss the pathological features of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), (2) discuss the relationship between gender and eating disorders, (3) provide information pertaining to the health consequences of eating disorders, and (4) provide practical recommendations for the preoperative evaluator.
