A: This is a really interesting question, but let's back up a little. Is it a sin to exercise and stay in shape; to wear make-up; to get hair extensions; to dye ones hair; to wear nice clothes; to use contact lenses instead of glasses or to have Lasik surgery to correct ones vision? None of these things is necessarily sinful, but collectively they can show a pattern of personal prioritizing which can distort our focus and distract from God. So the question really becomes, where do we draw the line?
If worrying about your physical appearance becomes an obsession, this is sinful. If your decision to have a face-lift or breast implants is central to your concept of physical beauty, than this, too, would be deemed sinful. Doing anything to drastically enhance or alter the body for the sake of personal vanity is always sinful because, in essence, you are making your appearance an idol and placing yourself above God. We should, "Seek first the Kingdom of God" with abject humility and everything else will fall into place.
With that being said, however, I do not believe that having surgery to correct a horrible facial disfigurement (due to an accident, etc.) or a breast implant after having had a mastectomy would be considered sinful. However, if these surgeries are meant to conform to the "cult of youth" that is so prevalent in today's age then, this is indeed a sinful attitude. Remember, growing old might be fraught with aches and pains, but acting and looking your age is a venerable quality.
Fr. John
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