Plastic Surgery for Men

John Joseph Conway is living proof that men can become just as vain as women when it comes to getting plastic surgery. The Chicago firefighter took his admiration of Bruce Willis to new heights when he traveled last month to New Delhi, India to get his jaw line reconstructed to look like the actor.

"I'm a firefighter. I need to look the part. I wanted to improve my jaw line. Bruce Willis has a nice strong jaw," he tells the Hindustan Times newspaper. Conway, who also traveled to India in 2005 for eyelid surgery, is so pleased with his results that he has already decided to bring his mother and sister to India for facelifts, where the cost will be $35,000 cheaper than the U.S. price tag.

While Conway has made international headlines for his plastic surgery trek, he is not alone in his masculine quest for body enhancements. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASPS), more than 900,000 men had plastic surgery procedures done in 2005. That year, the top five procedures for men included: lipoplasty (liposuction), rhinoplasty (nose reshaping), blepharoplasty (cosmetic eyelid surgery), male breast reduction and facelift.

Though men of all ages are now getting plastic surgery, the majority are men over 40. In a recent CBS News report, doctors indicate two main reasons men get plastic surgery. Males, they say, want a more youthful appearance to compete with younger colleagues in the workforce. And, they note, those who are divorced and dating again want to make themselves more appealing for the opposite sex. Whatever your reasons, here are a few things to consider about these procedures before scheduling your surgery.

Liposuction, one of the most popular procedures among men and women, is when excess fat is removed from below the skin by suction. However, removing so much fat can leave the skin very loose to hang from the body. This leaves the person with a very unsightly appearance and can be quite challenging for the patient to manage on a day-to-day basis. Additional surgery is often times required to cut off the excess skin. In some cases, men do not have to have this additional surgery because of their good skin elasticity, which enables their skin to adjust to the smaller dimensions with relative ease compared to women, whose skin is the opposite.

There's even surgery for men who desire a more defined look. With abdominal etching the doctor is able to create a muscular, rippled appearance for the abdominal region. Because this procedure is still relatively new, the ASPS warns men to seek out an experienced board-certified surgeon who has received adequate training. The same holds true for calf and pectoral implants, which are also growing popular among men. These surgeries require implementing a synthetic substance like silicone to fill out the area. According to the ASPS, calf implants were originally developed to restore leg contour in accident or polio victims. And pectoral implants were used to rebuild the chest of those with Poland syndrome, a congenital disease where the pectoral muscles are malformed or have collapsed into the chest.
For men more concerned with what's on their head, there are facial implants and hair replacement surgeries. Facial implants, which also use synthetic materials for enhancement, can be constructed around the chin and cheeks to create a more masculine cheekbone and jaw line. Hair replacement surgery involves removing small pieces of one's own hair and relocating it to a bald or thinning area. While there have been relatively positive effects with hair transplants, men have to have patience with the process. According to ASPS, a full transplant can take anywhere from 18 months to two years.

And for those who want "less intensive" treatments, there is chemical peeling and dermabrasion. Chemical peels use a combination of phenol, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and alphahydroxy acids (AHAs) to diminish wrinkles and even skin tone, while dermabrasion involves surgical scraping to remove the old layer of skin. After the procedures, patients are usually left red during the healing stage. The ASPS advises men who feel self-conscious about this side effect to avoid alcohol for about four weeks because alcohol can make one appear even more flushed.

Despite the perceived vanity of some of these procedures, some men are getting plastic surgery as a necessity. Take twenty-something Chad Hummel for instance. Hummel severely damaged his right hand while operating a grain auger on his farm. In addition to extensive nerve damage, doctors had to amputate most of his fingers. The outlook seemed bleak. "If things weren't better, we would have to look into amputation and prosthetics," says Hummel in a recent interview with ASPS. Fortunately, an ASPS surgeon stepped in to help. Considering the extensive damage, the surgeon was able to repair Hummel's fractures and dislocations, perform nerve grafting, and add skin flaps to close the wounds.

Patients, however, should not expect surgery to fix it all. Whatever your reasons may be for getting surgery, you must still do your part to gain the best results. Contrary to popular belief, outcomes depend on both the doctor and patient. Andrew, a real estate attorney who had a nose job, botox and liposuction, agrees. "Keeping fit is a team effort," says Andrew in an ASPS interview. "He does his work, and I do mine. I work out everyday. I have a good eating-and-workout method that maximizes outcomes in a short time. You can't go under the knife and expect it to be a cure-all."
By: Sylvia Coleman