Men are electing to get tummy tucks and facelifts more than ever. According to new figures released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), facelifts for men rose 14% in 2010 while male liposuction increased by 7%. Overall, cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in men were up 2% in 2010.
ASPS statistics also show that men underwent more than 1.1 million cosmetic procedures overall last year, both minimally-invasive and surgical.
ASPS President Phillip Haeck, MD explains:
“The growth in cosmetic surgical procedures for men may be a product of our aging baby boomers that are now ready to have plastic surgery. Minimally-invasive procedures such as Botox and soft tissue fillers work to a point. However, as you age and gravity takes over, surgical procedures that lift the skin are necessary in order to show significant improvement.”
With the American male grooming market now worth $3.5 billion, men seem to be changing their attitude about a number of issues that seemed previously to be the preserve of women. Feeling the need to look youthful and appear dynamic well into your 40s, 50s and 60s has led to men re-thinking their attitudes to pills, diet, exercise, face-care products and cosmetic (plastic) surgery.
Here’s your top ten list of the fastest growing male cosmetic procedures:
- Facelift – 14% Increase
- Ear Surgery (Otoplasty) – 11% Increase
- Soft Tissue Fillers – 10% Increase
- Botulinum Toxin Type A – 9% Increase
- Liposuction – 7% Increase
- Breast Reduction in Men – 6% Increase
- Eyelid Surgery – 4% Increase
- Dermabrasion – 4% Increase
- Laser Hair Removal – 4% Increase
- Laser Treatment of Leg Veins – 4% Increase
Stephen Baker, MD, an ASPS Member Surgeon based in Washington DC continues:
“Typically people think of celebrities and high profile men undergoing cosmetic surgery and while that may be true, the typical male cosmetic surgery patient that I see is an average guy who wants to look as good as he feels. Most of my patients are ‘men’s men,’ the kind of guy you might not think would have plastic surgery. Baby boomers want to look good. So when they have the financial means to do it, they are ready to do it now.”
Surgery to create six pack abs, pectoral implants and buttock enhancements are becoming more and more popular too. Cosmetic surgery appeals to the quick-fix, no hassle approach to life. The down side is cost and the dangers associated with elective surgery. There is also the notion of ‘falseness’ (plastic), something that isn’t real or worked for and sometimes the unrealistic expectations we have of the cosmetic procedure as the ‘thing’ that will improve and cure the problems persons feel they have.
Elective cosmetic surgery, as with any surgical procedure, does have risks as well as benefits. The death of Olivia Goldsmith, a writer aged 54 yrs while undergoing a neck lift operation, Nigeria’s first lady, Stella Obasanjo death after undergoing plastic surgery in Spain and James Brown’s wife Adrienne death following cosmetic surgery illustrates its potential dangers.
Anesthesia and sedation risks include abnormal heart rhythm, heart attack, brain damage, nerve damage, stroke, blood clots, and blood loss and air way obstruction. Infection, skin death, asymmetry, numbness, irregularities, puckers and scarring, fluid collection after liposuction can result from the surgery itself.
Dangers also exist with unlicensed and untrained doctors offering anesthesia and surgery, poor regulation within the field and the fact that unsanitary areas can sometimes be used during surgical procedures.
Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.