Avoir recours à la chirurgie esthétique vs ne pas le faire
Si vous agissez
Recourir à la chirurgie esthétique
10%
Si vous n’agissez pas
Renoncer à la chirurgie esthétique
7,0%
Pourcentage de personnes qui regrettent ensuite chaque choix. Les barres et le registre complet s’affichent ci-dessous.
Santé
Dernière révision 2026-04-26
Qualité des preuves 3.75/5
Score d’évaluation en huit dimensions selon la
grille de qualité
. Chaque dimension notée de 1 à 5.
D1 Vérification des sources
4/5
D2 Autorité et indépendance des sources
4/5
D3 Précision du taux de regret
1/5
D4 Comparabilité des sources
2/5
D5 Motif de Gilovich
5/5
D6 Qualité de la prose
5/5
D7 Complétude des réserves
5/5
D8 Qualité de l’échantillon
4/5
Moyenne3.75/5
Données de substitution — aucune enquête directe sur les regrets n'existe pour cette décision. Les taux sont dérivés des scores de satisfaction et des obstacles d'accès plutôt que de questions portant directement sur les regrets. Voir les mises en garde ci-dessous.
Regret d'action
Recourir à la chirurgie esthétique
10%
~10% regrettent la procédure (fourchette 5-33% selon le type)
Patients en chirurgie esthétique, revue systématique multi-études
rétrospective, généralement 1-5 ans après la procédure
Regret d'inaction
Renoncer à la chirurgie esthétique
7,0%
~5% (proxy de substitution — aucune enquête directe n'existe)
Adultes américains, représentatifs au niveau national
rétrospective, pas de calendrier fixe
% regrettent ce choix
Recourir à la chirurgie esthétiqueRenoncer à la chirurgie esthétique
10%7,0%
balanced — À peu près équilibré — les deux choix entraînent un regret similaire.
Décisions associées
Décisions sémantiquement similaires — même terrain, compromis différents.
Recourir à la chirurgie esthétique pour se conformer aux normes d'apparence coréennesRefuser la chirurgie esthétique et résister à la pression sur l'apparence
A 2024 American Journal of Surgery
systematic review places cosmetic surgery regret at
roughly 5—33% depending on procedure type: breast augmentation sits at
the low end (5—9%), body contouring at the high end (11—33%). That
review does not compute a single cross-procedure average, so we estimate ~10%
as a conservative editorial estimate near the lower-middle of that range
for elective cosmetic procedures, not a computed midpoint. A companion
2023 PMC narrative summary of the decision-regret literature does not add
its own numeric range but corroborates which factors drive regret (see
below); the AJS review itself reports rates only. On the inaction side, no large-sample survey directly measures regret about not
having cosmetic surgery. General body-dissatisfaction data (37% of
Americans per Ipsos) and cosmetic-consideration rates (70% per ASDS)
suggest that a non-trivial minority of non-patients harbor lasting
appearance dissatisfaction, but the 7% inaction figure is a ceiling
proxy — the Ipsos-reported share who say they would be willing to
undergo cosmetic surgery to achieve their ideal body — not a measured
regret rate or a survey finding about regret.
The pattern runs counter to the classic Gilovich finding. For most life
decisions, inaction regret dominates over time: people regret the degree not
pursued, the trip not taken, the relationship not attempted. Cosmetic surgery
inverts this because the action is irreversible, physically invasive, and
financially costly. A rhinoplasty that narrows the bridge too aggressively
cannot be fully undone; a breast augmentation that causes capsular contracture
is a daily reminder. The 2023 PMC review of the decision-regret literature
(not the 2024 AJS review, which reports rates only) identifies inadequate
preoperative education, limited use of decisional tools, and postoperative
complications as the strongest predictors of regret — suggesting that the
action-regret rate is substantially reducible through better screening and
counseling.
The main caveat is the asymmetry of evidence. The action side has genuine
peer-reviewed systematic reviews with procedure-specific breakdowns. The
inaction side has essentially nothing: body dissatisfaction surveys measure a
different construct, and ASDS consideration rates conflate casual curiosity
with genuine surgical intent. The 7% inaction figure used here is a ceiling
proxy — willingness to undergo cosmetic surgery, not a measured regret rate.
If a rigorous survey ever asks a representative sample of non-patients “Do
you regret not having cosmetic surgery?”, the true figure could be higher or
lower — and the direction of the Gilovich pattern could flip. Until then,
the delta (0.03) should be read as roughly balanced with a slight tilt
toward action regret, not as a precise quantitative claim.
Sources : action
Registre des sources
Chaque chiffre ci-dessous correspond à ce que la source a rapporté, avec la citation textuelle sur laquelle nous nous sommes appuyés et la méthode de calcul. Cliquez sur un lien pour vérifier directement.
[1]The American Journal of Surgery — A systematic review of patient regret after surgery↗ 1 other entry
Revue par les pairs
Regret after elective plastic surgery ranges from 5–33%; breast augmentation 5.1–9.1%, body contouring 10.82–33.3%
Extrait
“"Regret after elective plastic surgery operations is significantly higher compared to gender-affirming surgery. The percentage of patients reporting regret ranged from 0 to 47.1% in breast reconstruction, 5.1–9.1% in breast augmentation, and 10.82–33.3% in body contouring."
”
Données source de
2024-04-30
Consulté le
2026-07-07
Calcul
2024 AJS systematic review of patient regret across surgical subspecialties. Reported ranges for cosmetic procedures: breast augmentation 5.1–9.1%, body contouring 10.82–33.3%. The review provides the most comprehensive cross-specialty data but does not compute a weighted average across procedures. We use ~10% as a conservative editorial estimate sitting at the lower-middle of the cosmetic (non-reconstructive) range — not a computed midpoint — acknowledging the enormous variance by procedure type. This review reports regret rates only and does not analyze predictors or drivers of regret; the predictor finding below (preoperative education, decisional tools, postoperative complications) comes from the companion PMC 2023 source only, not from this review.
[2]Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open — Decision Regret in Plastic Surgery: A Summary
Revue par les pairs
Qualitative summary of decision-regret literature; preoperative education, decisional tools, and postoperative complications are the strongest predictors
Extrait
“"After review of the literature, preoperative education, decisional tools, and postoperative complications were found to be the most important factors affecting decision regret after surgery."
”
Données source de
2023-06-01
Consulté le
2026-07-07
Calcul
PMC 2023 narrative summary of the decision-regret literature in plastic surgery (Jones, Cruz, Stewart, Losken; PRS Global Open). It does not report a single aggregate cosmetic regret rate; instead it identifies preoperative education, decisional tools, and postoperative complications as the strongest predictors of regret. The formal literature it draws on concentrates on breast reconstruction and gender-reaffirming procedures rather than aesthetic surgery. Used as a corroborating source on regret drivers, not for the numeric rate.
Sources : inaction
Registre des sources
Chaque chiffre ci-dessous correspond à ce que la source a rapporté, avec la citation textuelle sur laquelle nous nous sommes appuyés et la méthode de calcul. Cliquez sur un lien pour vérifier directement.
[1]Ipsos — Most Americans Experience Feeling Dissatisfied with How Their Body Looks from Time to Time↗ 2 other entries
Étude primaire
7% of Americans say they would be willing to undergo cosmetic surgery to achieve their ideal body; 37% feel dissatisfied with their body whenever they look in the mirror
Extrait
“"Americans are not as willing to undergo cosmetic surgery (7%), consume laxatives (4%), and/or purge/throw-up after eating (1%)."
”
Données source de
2018-01-10
Consulté le
2026-07-07
Calcul
Ipsos survey of 1,004 US adults (Jan 3–5, 2018). No published survey directly asks non-patients whether they regret not having cosmetic surgery, so no true inaction-regret figure exists. Rather than invent a downward adjustment, this entry uses the survey's own directly-reported 7% figure: the share of respondents who said they would be willing to undergo cosmetic surgery to achieve their ideal body (grouped by Ipsos among the least-chosen extreme measures, alongside laxative use and purging), used as a ceiling/context proxy. It bounds the population plausibly dissatisfied enough with their appearance to entertain surgery, and so plausibly able to feel inaction regret, versus the much broader 37% general mirror-dissatisfaction figure, which includes many people who would never consider surgery specifically. This is explicitly a willingness proxy, not a measured regret rate, and should be read as an order-of-magnitude ceiling, not a finding.
[2]Practical Dermatology / ASDS — 2025 ASDS Survey: 70% of Consumers Considering Cosmetic Procedures
Source de référence
70% of Americans are considering a cosmetic dermatologic procedure
Extrait
“"Seventy percent of Americans are considering a cosmetic dermatologic procedure."
”
Données source de
2025-03-01
Consulté le
2026-07-07
Calcul
ASDS annual consumer survey. The 70% consideration rate is inflated by including minimally invasive treatments (Botox, fillers) alongside surgical procedures, and reflects loose interest rather than intent to act. No published survey directly measures inaction regret; this source is retained as corroborating context on the gap between broad "considering" figures and genuine willingness, not as the basis for the 7% proxy (see the Ipsos source above and caveats below).
Réserves
Les chiffres action et inaction ne sont pas symétriques dans la méthodologie ou la rigueur. L'estimation de ~10% de regret côté action est dérivée de deux revues systématiques (PMC 2023, AJS 2024) qui rapportent des fourchettes spécifiques aux procédures (augmentation mammaire 5-9%, remodelage corporel 11-33%) mais aucun chiffre agrégé unique. Aucune revue ne calcule une moyenne pondérée à travers les procédures esthétiques, donc les 10% sont une estimation éditoriale située dans la partie basse-médiane de la fourchette observée. Le 5% du côté inaction est un proxy de substitution — aucune enquête à grand échantillon ne demande directement aux non-patients s'ils regrettent de ne pas avoir eu de chirurgie esthétique. Le taux d'insatisfaction corporelle d'Ipsos (37%) est beaucoup trop large, et le taux de considération de l'ASDS (70%) reflète un intérêt vague, pas un regret. Le 5% devrait être traité comme un proxy de substitution d'ordre de grandeur, pas comme un résultat. Comme les deux côtés comportent une incertitude substantielle, l'écart (0,05) doit être lu comme « approximativement équilibré avec une légère inclinaison vers le regret d'action » plutôt que comme une affirmation quantitative précise. La chirurgie esthétique est un contre-exemple à la conclusion typique de Gilovich et Medvec sur la dominance de l'inaction : l'irréversibilité, le risque de cicatrices physiques et le coût financier de la procédure soutiennent le regret d'action d'une manière que la chirurgie élective renoncée ne fait pas.
