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Men Flock to Plastic Surgery But Need Different Procedures and Techniques

lastic surgery has undergone a change lately. When I first started training 15 years ago, I met only a few men who wanted to go under the knife. Plastic surgery was the domain of young women working on their bodies, and women over 35 refreshing their faces. Men picked up their wives and girlfriends after the procedures. They stayed away from the operating room themselves.

Not anymore. Last year more than 1,000,000 men had plastic surgery procedures, according the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery. The number is growing: I see more and more men every month. Sports Illustrated now sits with Vogue in our magazine rack.

Men are turning to plastic surgery to feel better, look younger, and help with their careers. But just as men are from Mars and women are from Venus in relationships, so too are they different when it comes to plastic surgery. With the wrong procedures, or the right procedures done the wrong way, men wind up looking less like they did when they were in college -- and more like their college-aged daughters.

Where women tend to undergo lifts, men steer more toward reshaping and recontouring. Nationally, the top three surgical procedures for men are liposuction, rhinoplasty (nose work), and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery). Men are going for Botox and skin treatments as well.

Even in-shape guys have love handles that tend to scream "flab." These areas usually can be eliminated with liposuction. Likewise, many men I see complain of fullness in the chest (and I am not talking pecs here) that diminishes their masculine look. Liposuction provides excellent results here too. This surgery can help bring back the abs men had in college.

Liposuction often provides desired outcomes that often cannot be achieved at the gym. Localized fat deposits that are hard to exercise away stand as inviting targets for liposuction. I had one patient nickname my liposuction machine his "mechanical personal trainer." Results like this are improved still more as men head back to the gym after their procedures.

Like rings in a tree trunk, lines reveal our age. In men, they tend to develop around the eyes and forehead. When treated early, Botox smooths fine lines on the face. By weakening tiny facial muscles, it stops the constant pulling that leads to lines on the overlying skin. Though the results only last between three and six months, the changes look very impressive.

When fine lines around the eyes graduate to true wrinkles, eyelid surgery turns back the clock. By removing excess skin and fat of either the upper or lower eyelid, men look refreshed without changing their overall appearance.

Men have different goals from women in seeking plastic surgery. And their distinct anatomy means that simply offering the same procedure to men as women will leave men dissatisfied with the results.

As a plastic surgeon, I have seen that plastic surgery is no longer for women only. Men have great results, just like women. But their bodies, goals, and temperaments are different. So the correct procedures, done in the right way, need to be selected to give men the outcomes they're looking for.

About the Author
Lloyd M. Krieger is a plastic surgeon and founder of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, California. More information is available on this California plastic surgeon and plastic surgery in Los Angeles.