Plastic surgery to look bad?

A woman in China recently attempted to get plastic surgery to look worse, in order to woo back her boyfriend who thought she looked so pretty that he would eventually lose her. Here's the story from chinadaily.com:

Woman forsakes her beautiful face

A young woman from Chongqing sought plastic surgery to make her face less attractive recently, after being crossed in love.

The 23-year-old woman's sweetheart left her weeks ago to stay with another woman. Although the two had been in love for six years, her ex-boyfriend feared that her too-beautiful face might lure many other men and thus he didn't feel safe staying with her.

She came to hate all men after being courted by many others, prompting her desire for the surgery. But the doctors refused to co-operate, saying she had a mental disorder and needed to seek help from psychotherapists.

Good thing that her surgeons refused to operate on her. I have seen some pretty crazy things in this field, but plastic surgery for the sole purpose to make someone look unattractive may take the cake. I acknowledge that some people do look worse after bad plastic surgery, but I doubt that that was the purpose (except in the case of Michael Jackson and BDD patients).

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is looking a bit droopy lately. It's nothing a breast lift (mastopexy) couldn't help. Unfortunately, breast lifts are not perfect surgeries since they create significant scars on the breast. The scars usually go around the areola, vertically down to the under-breast crease, and sometimes under the breast as well. The scars usually fade with time, but it can take 1-2 years.
Some patients get breast lifts with implants (augmentation mastopexy), but the implants are only necessary if the patient wants her breast to be larger.
I do believe that Star Jones and Carnie Wilson both had breast lifts with implants. I wouldn't recommend implants for Barbra. Her breasts are big enough!

Photo credit: kurlander.blogspot.com

Tara Reid on Awful Plastic Surgery

Tara Reid was on the Today show today talking about her plastic surgery experience. It's a nice interview. She is really doing the public a service to let them know that there are people out there doing plastic surgery who are not real plastic surgeons. Even in my geographic vicinity, there is a plethora of doctors who perform plastic surgery who have no formal plastic surgery training at all. It's extremely frustrating to see so many of their complications. Most of them could have been prevented had the surgery been performed by a competent plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. There's a reason I don't perform tonsillectomies, treat diabetes, or remove cataracts. I don't perform surgeries I haven't been properly trained to do. I wish other doctors in town would do the same.

Here is a link to the Today show site. Scroll down to find the link to the video of the interview.

Demi Moore

Demi Moore has reportedly had her knees done. According to the Daily Mail, the star has reportedly been unhappy with how her knees looked and recently had them surgically altered. Here is their story (abridged):

Despite her enviable figure, Demi Moore, 43, always had one or two things she wanted to hide away - her knees.

After her flaw was pointed out to her, the mother of three - who is very conscious that actor husband Ashton Kutcher is 15 years younger than her - asked her plastic surgeon to see what he can do.

"Demi went to Brian Novack, who has already done work on her," a source close to the actress said. "He is a fantastic surgeon and his clients don't look like they've had surgery. Demi couldn't stand it that there was any part of her that is not perfect.

"She is also sensitive about her age, although Ashton has told her a million times he doesn't care about what she looks like because he loves her.

"A lot of her friends were trying to talk her out of having more surgery. Worrying about her knees, of all things, is just silly. She's lucky that's the only part of her left to sag!"

Knees are one of the hardest areas of the body to have done because there is nowhere to conceal the scarring.

"If you cut away skin there is going to be scarring," said plastic surgeon Alex Karidis of the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in North London. "If you have a neck lift you can hide the scarring behind the ear, but the knees are one of the most exposed areas of the body.

"I would always advise my clients against having knee surgery because it is impossible to hide. And even though the scarring might not be as bad as the sagging, it will be a telltale sign that you have had surgery."

The surgery added another £5,000 to the £220,000 tally of improving her body. Among the work she has allegedly had is liposuction to her hips, thighs and stomach, estimated to have cost £16,000, a £9,500 breast implant operation and £20,000 of work on her face.

After a string of film flops in the late Nineties and a difficult break up with her husband of 11 years, Bruce Willis, Miss Moore has enjoyed a comeback since having the main work done nearly four years ago.

What cosmetic surgeons believe Demi has had done:

• Liposuction to her hips, inner and outer thighs and stomach - £16,000
• Beast implants for 1996 film Striptease - £11,000
• Subsequent operation to reduce her breast implants and have a breast lift - £9,500
• Brow lift - £3,600
• Chemical facial skin peel - £10,000
• Collagen injections (per course) - £200
• Teeth veneered and laser whitening - £6,200
• A long-term diet and fitness routine, including nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga instructor and kick-boxing champion - £165,000
• Knees surgery - £5,000


Total: £226,500

I haven't checked the exchange rates in years, but last time I was in the UK, a U.S. dollar was worth about half a British pound. That puts the total amount she's estimated to have spent around $400,000! I would doubt some of the amount above, as a chemical peel should not cost 10,000 pounds and liposuction 16,000 pounds. If that was the case, I would retire at age 40!

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan has expressly denied having a breast augmentation. According to Showbiz News:

The 'Georgia Rule' actress - was reported to have had her breasts surgically enhanced after recently being photographed with a fuller cleavage - is fed up with the constant speculation about whether she has gone under the knife to boost her bust.

She is quoted as saying: "I like my breasts the way they are. I read that I had breast implants and that I'd had my lips done too, which is such b*****t."

The 'Mean Girls' star - who has previously been dogged by anorexia rumours - insists she has never been happier with her body.
She said: "I feel great. I like having a shape."

I'm likely one of the plastic surgeons she has read about. The photos I've examined from national magazines are pretty convincing, especially in regards to the lips. Breast augmentation, however, can be difficult to determine due to all the nice push-up bras nowadays.
It's like that 90's song by C&C Music Factory: Things That Make You Go Hmm....

Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne is planning to have her gastric band removed. A gastric band is a band placed around the stomach to make it smaller. This causes the person to feel full quicker, and therefore eat less.

According to the Associated Press:
Osbourne, who has written a memoir, "Sharon Osbourne Extreme," had surgery in 1999 to have the gastric band put inside her, but intends to shed it in December (when she returns to the U.S. from Britain). Though the band is designed to limit food intake by squeezing down the stomach's capacity, she packed on 15 pounds this year, she says, "from overeating."

"I keep trying to eat more and more ... I'm a pig," says Osbourne, who has indulged in "chocolate, French fries and junk food" instead of sticking to the nutritious diet required of gastric-band patients.

What happens when she eats too much? "You throw up...then you eat more," she says.
Hopefully she can keep her appetite in check after the band is removed. The gastric band is a nice alternative to gastric bypass surgery. The recovery isn't as difficult, the surgery is reversible (as far as I know), and it doesn't seem as risky as gastric bypass. Weight loss doesn't seem to occur quite as fast as with gastric bypass as well, which may actually be a good thing.
I have operated on several people who have had gastric banding, lost a lot of weight (80-120 lbs), and then needed a tummy tuck to remove excess skin. There are some plastic surgeons who focus solely on treating people with massive weight loss.

Story and photo credit: www.washingtonpost.com

Eva Longoria

From chinadaily.com:
Eva Longoria has said she would never have plastic surgery - because she has a phobia of needles.

The Desperate Housewives star does not have a moral issue with cosmetic alterations, however, and does not necessarily look down on those who choose to do it.

"It's not that I'm against people who do it, but I'm terrified of needles," she told Maxim. "I've seen those shows with the operations. The sound of the chisel! Aaah! I almost passed out. No thank you. Egg white omlettes, some exercise and some eye cream is fine for now."

She looks great and shouldn't have any plastic surgery done anyways. When women who look like her come to my office I tell them to take care of their skin (Obagi products are amazing) and consider non-invasive treatments like lunchtime lasers, or maybe some Botox.