眼部整形專家建議醫學界不要再使用

帶有種族偏見的整形術語“亞洲眼瞼成形術”

Cosmetic Surgeons Suggest to Retire “Asian Blepharoplasty”,

 a Medical Term with Racial Prejudice Immediately

美國，洛杉磯 – 在應對新冠疫情的大環境下，人們已經習慣了在有需要時佩戴著口罩。與此同時，在口罩的遮掩下，眼睛無疑成了面部的重點，越來越多的人會尋求通過整形手術改善外貌，提升自信。其中，雙眼皮手術就是一項常規的、改善眼部外觀的整形手術。但人們不知道的是，醫學界長期以來將雙眼皮手術叫作“亞洲眼瞼成形術”（Asian Blepharoplasty）。由於雙眼皮手術在亞裔群體中頗受歡迎，一些眼部整形專家也意識到在溝通手術流程的時候，用這個術語會讓不少人反感，由此也引發出不少的社會爭議。

Los Angeles, CA, [DATE] – Under the impact of the pandemic, people are used to wearing masks whenever they need to. Since the face is always half covered, the attention to the eyes is naturally inevitable. Thus, more and more people are willing to adopt beauty treatment to their eyes. Double eyelid surgery is one of the popular treatments people choose nowadays. However, they may not know the medical term for it is “Asian Blepharoplasty”. With the surging popularity of eyelid surgery among Asian and Asian-American populations, some surgeons are raising awareness about the way this procedure is discussed within their profession — and with their patients.

日前，享譽全球的眼外科整形機構Eyesthetica 的外科整形手術醫生們在專業學術期刊上聯合撰文，從剖析“亞洲眼瞼成形術”（Asian Blepharoplasty）術語的成因出發，勇敢提出了這一術語帶有的種族及地域偏見性，並呼籲醫學界盡快停止這種說法，以免扭曲了一種常規的醫療整形手段，從而對手術患者乃至社會造成潛在的傷害。

Recently, the world-renowned oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeons at Eyesthetica published research exploring the problematic origins of the term “Asian blepharoplasty,” prompting discussion about the risks of using outdated and potentially harmful terminology with racial prejudice to describe medical procedures.

Eyesthetica 的眼部外科整形手術醫生指出，儘管統計數據顯示全球亞裔人口中約有一半生來是單眼皮，但是這些人是否尋求做雙眼皮手術，完全是個人意願決定的。近期，隨著雙眼皮手術在東亞地區和美國越來越流行，關於雙眼皮手術的目的的爭議也越來越多。在對選擇做雙眼皮手術人士的調研顯示，人們選擇做雙眼皮手術有兩個主要原因：一是出於醫療目的，二是出於個人意願想要改善眼部外觀。

Professional surgeons at Eyesthetica have pointed out, although only half of the worldwide Asian population is born with monolids, the decision for an Asian to have double eyelid surgery, creation of a pronounced eyelid crease, has been controversial despite becoming more popular in East Asia and the United States. The survey amongst patients has revealed the major two reasons why they chose to have this procedure - firstly, for the medical purpose; secondly, for the purpose to improve their facial outlook at their own will.

由此，一篇名為《一個醫學手術術語包含種族偏見，是時候停用“亞洲眼瞼成形術”了》的學術文章在《眼科整形和重建手術》2020年刊上發表了，該文由Eyesthetica 的幾位世界級外科整形手術醫生Dr. Michael A. Burnstine, Dr. Steven C. Dresner, Dr. David B. Samimi 以及Dr. Christopher C. Lo聯合撰寫。

In their recent article, “What is in a Name? It is Time to Retire the Term ‘Asian Blepharoplasty’”, published in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2020, Drs. Michael A. Burnstine, Steven C. Dresner, David B. Samimi, and Christopher C. Lo discuss the term “Asian blepharoplasty” and why they find it concerning.

文章重點闡述了為什麼現今的說法令人不安。眾所周知，醫患溝通是醫療行為中重要的一個環節，若溝通不良，則會影響患者的治療選擇和心理層面的波動。當外科整形醫生向患者傳達“亞洲眼瞼整形術”這一名詞的同時，可能會強化亞洲眼瞼特徵的負面觀點，對亞洲患者造成一定的心理打擊。在現在多元化的社會中，人們對美的追求也是多樣化的，並非一味追求“西方面孔”。

“亞洲眼瞼整形術”這一說法無疑是對亞洲人的“污名”，是不公平的，且會給人一種亞洲面部特徵是病理性的錯誤觀念，醫學界也再難找出第二個這麼帶有種族偏見性的術語。故此Eyesthetica的外科整形手術醫生專家們呼籲廢止這種說法，用“雙眼皮手術”（Double Eyelid Surgery）取而代之會更好。

In short, they say the “obvious discomfort” expressed by their patients upon hearing the surgery referred to with a racial modifier prompted the surgeons at Eyesthetica to ask themselves “whether any other procedures are similarly classified by race.” The answer was no.

“By including the word ‘Asian’ in our terminology,” they continue, “we risk medicalizing the Asian eyelid and implying that it is the ‘Asian-ness’ of the eyes that the patient seeks to remedy,” when in fact this is the aspect of their eyelids that they say their patients explicitly request to preserve.

The authors recommend that their colleagues cease referring to this procedure as “Asian blepharoplasty,” and instead use “double eyelid surgery,” a more accurate and descriptive term of creating a double eyelid from a monolid; this change seeks to normalize the procedure as cosmetic rather than racially motivated. 

Eyesthetica的聯合撰文者們總結說道：“我們使用的任何文字和語言都會產生長遠的影響。透過改變外科整形專業人士對這種日益流行的手術的稱謂理解和溝通方式，Eyesthetica的外科整形手術醫生們希望看到整個行業都能棄用這一問題舊稱，以確保那些選擇要進行雙眼皮手術的患者情緒健康。

“Words and the language we use has impact,” the authors conclude. By changing the way their profession refers to this increasingly popular surgery, the surgeons at Eyesthetica hope to see a shift in the way this procedure is discussed to ensure the emotional well-being of patients who choose to undergo double eyelid surgery.

（文章提供：Eyesthetica）