I'm assuming you're talking about the crazies we have here, who seem to think women will go from rejecting them to being all over them after a 3cm height increase, in which case I'd have to agree.
Otherwise, the same negative impact in the workplace that you mentioned also manifests itself in many other facets of life. That's called heightism. It's not exclusive to certain situations, and you can't beat it by willing it out of existence. It doesn't exist because of us: it exists because of many others around us. It's not exactly, and simply, wanting to "validate yourself" - some see this surgery as the only way to escape that negative bias (heightism) that has followed them throughout their lives. Why would they want to live with it? It's not every short person who can truly chalk up heightism to the futility of others around them and move on with their lives, without a care in the world. For others, it could be a matter of pride, but it'd still be their decision; ideally, they should be moderately aware of how much they're risking just for pride in those cases.
In parallel, I also agree this is a very dangerous surgery, and the risk-to-benefit ratio must be adequately gauged.