Men are increasingly
catching up with women in terms of undergoing aesthetic plastic surgery - in
relative as well as in absolute numbers. 25 years ago, men made up barely 10
% of all cosmetic surgeries. The absolute number was considerably lower than
it is today. Meanwhile many clinics register almost 20 % male patients.
The most common types of
surgery are eye lid corrections, nose corrections and contour harmonisations
using liposuction. There is however an increasing demand for face-liftings,
forehead-liftings, etc. A recent trend is marked by the demand for penis
enlargement or penis elongation surgery. With regard to hair
transplantation, male patients have for a long time made up the majority.
An increasing number of men
ask for eye lid or facial lifting once they have reached a certain age.
Although the male skin is thicker than the female skin (20 %), it eventually
gets wrinkled. The visible traces of progressing time start from the eye
area. The upper eye lids hang down onto the eye lashes like curtains, the
eye sockets' fat protrudes underneath the eyes. The eyes look tired. The
otherwise dynamic manager type experiences a disadvantage: people do not
suspect a high energy level behind a tired facial expression. Eye lid
stretching is therefore one of the most popular types of surgery among my
patients. It takes relatively little effort and it applies refreshed
features to the patient's face.
Overstretched eye lids are
a similar case. Men who work in the spotlight increasingly consult plastic
surgeons. Not only actors, singers and other celebrities but also active
business people wanting to refresh their looks. Many patients claim they
need plastic surgery in order to stand up to the competition. Yet in most
cases it eventually turns out that they really want to treat their own
shaken body image.
Face-lifting surgery on
male patients has its own characteristics. Cutting lines have to take a
different course than on women because of the hairy skin in the beard area.
A double chin correction can be conducted either by applying a single
method, or by a combination of various methods, with or without ultrasound.
Since the introduction of endoscopic MIS (micro invasive surgery) there have
been almost as many male as female patients. Extensive cuts have become
obsolete.
Middle-aged managers who
consider themselves "too tired looking" and who want to gain a more dynamic
appearance are the largest group among our patients. Sonja Bischoff, a
Hamburg scientist, has studied top management representatives in Germany
since 1986. She found that appearance is increasingly becoming a factor for
success. In 1998, "appearance" ranked as the third important factor for
success, together with "personal contacts".
In the 2003 investigation
outer appearance had gone up to number three (for women) and even number 2
(for men!). In Sonia Bischoff's book "Wer führt in (die) Zukunft" ("Who is
leading in(to) the future") specialist knowledge was in the focus of the
investigation, minor focus was put on personal relationships, language
knowledge, professional and non-professional activities. Outer appearance
itself has made a career, even more so among men than among women. Highly
paid managers often mention their looks as a contributing factor to their
success!
The human weakness for the
beautiful has been scientifically confirmed by the Hamburg brain researcher
Knut Kampe. He measured the effects within the limbic system (which is
responsible for human emotions) when looking at an attractive human being.
If the limbic system, which is considered one of the oldest in the evolution
of the human being, sets off endorphines, the body's own substances to
signal lust, we receive a feeling of pleasure. Stereotypes with regard to
attractiveness work in favour of the beautiful. In other words, we are
doping ourselves.
Meeting the eyes of less
attractive human beings can cause negative feelings. The level of pleasure
increases as soon as those un-beautiful glances are turned away, the medical
scientist from Hamburg found. A salesperson with attractive features will
find it easier to sell his/ her product than someone with less attractive
features, an insurance representative with attractive features will find it
easier to convince his/ her client to sign a contract than a less attractive
counterpart. The social psychologist Ronald Henss concludes: "It can be
reasonable to take attractiveness into account during the hiring process."
US government advisor Larry
Standard approached us with similar motives. He was 43 years of age but
looked - according to his own judgement - like a 63-year old. He felt
offended by children offering him seats on the bus, in the street car.
Standard
has lived in more than 40 countries, experienced a high level of stress,
changed his surroundings regularly. He wanted a complete refreshment and
harmonisation of his face. His nose, four times broken during sports
activities, was to receive surgical correction as well as his bent ears. His
forehead was considered too high, his eye brows too low, his eyes appeared
too small. Two deep horizontal wrinkles on the forehead were to be removed.
The scar would afterwards look like a single skin fold.
His cheeks
were hollow, his facial skin excessive. Deep wrinkles gave the face a much
older appearance than it actually was. We offer face-lifting and own body
fat transfer into the face. A rather comprehensive makeover of the face.
"Extreme makeover" is now available in the US. The possible consequences
were discussed with Larry in detail. He gave his agreement.
12 days
later he was able to travel again. He carried with him a set of photographs
taken before and after the surgery as well as during the pre-surgical
planning period. In his suitcase was also a written documentation, in
English and German, with detailed information about what changes had been
made and why. Still, he faced difficulties when passing the border control
at Düsseldorf airport. His new looks did not match his former looks
displayed on his passport photograph. Only after receiving official
confirmation from the German police authorities, was he able to return home.
D.Panfilov
