A ^Retired Plastic Surgeon's Notebook

For Men Only

Do real men have plastic surgery? Yes, according to Seattle Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Eyelid surgery for men in Seattle, WA

Eyelid surgery is a common procedure for men.

About 10 percent of my patients have a Y chromosome. The most common procedures I perform on men are liposuction, gynecomastia reduction, eyelid surgery, browlift, facelift and abdominoplasty. I also do a lot of Botox injections on men. In general, the usual rules of patient selection apply to men. They must have realistic expectations, be in good health, be able to follow postoperative instructions and be seeking a change in their appearance for themselves. They also have to have anatomy that lends itself to a good surgical result. A 53 year old overweight, hypertensive, deconditioned, diabetic, hard drinking and heavy smoking man who thinks plastic surgery is going to make him a big hit in the singles bar is not a good candidate. Plastic surgery is unsafe for him and will surely not meet his expectations.

Men seeking body contouring are usually dissatisfied with their trunkal fat. If the excess fat is limited to certain areas such as the lower abdomen, chest and love handle areas and is on the outside, liposuction often can provide long lasting improvement in these areas. If there is a lot of excess skin as in weight loss, excision of excess skin may also be necessary. If the excess fat is visceral fat, so-called inside belly fat, body contouring will not help. Only weight loss will help. Another area often amenable to liposuction is the area under the chin, the submentum.

Facial surgery in men must be conservative to avoid a feminine look. When eyelids, a brow lift or a face lift is done, the change should be more subtle than in a woman. Male pattern baldness and facial hair can make incision placement and hiding scars more difficult. Recovery from facial surgery may be more difficult for men than women. Men tend to bruise more and wearing makeup to camouflage the bruising is usually something men do not want to do. Men have a more difficult time taking it easy and avoiding the gym. This can result in prolonged bruising or even postoperative bleeding. I recommend a little extra down time and hiding out time for my male patients. I also recommend that a man change his facial hair prior to returning to work. It’s amazing how the addition or removal of a mustache, beard, or even a soul patch can take the attention away from a operated area. But what I really recommend is the “So I had plastic surgery. You go a problem widdat?” approach.

I have not found that postoperative pain control is more of an issue in men. I do think that men are a little less stoic when it comes to minor illness such as a cold or the stomach flu but when it comes to surgery, I have not seen a difference between male and female patients. Most of my male patients are fit and work out. Athletic patients are more stoic than sedentary patients. That may explain my observation.

Do real men allow their women to have plastic surgery?

Okay, guys, repeat after me. “Honey, I love you just the way you are, but if you really want to do it and the doctor thinks it will be safe, go for it.”

In a healthy relationship, I have found that when men object to their wife or girlfriend having plastic surgery, it is usually a concern about the safety of the procedure. I encourage husbands and boyfriends to come to the appointments, ask questions and participate in post-operative care. If the relationship is not healthy, there may be significant control or jealousy issues and plastic surgery won’t fix that. It will likely make those issues worse.

Do real gay men allow their men to have plastic surgery?

See the above. It applies. Gay men are sometimes held to a higher standard of appearance and it is important that gay men go into surgery with realistic expectations.

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