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Want to change your image?
Try rhinoplasty. You won't be alone.
As an increasing number of Americans
consult their plastic surgeons, nose jobs are
becoming more and more popular.

PAMELA YOUNG SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

/1)

t was an errant Frisbee that eventually
caused former Michigander Sara H. to un-
dergo rhinoplasty.
Standing on a beach, 22-year-old Sara
didn't see the disc as it slammed into her
face, knocking her unconscious and break-
ing her nose.
Three years after the accident, she grew
weary of the constant congestion caused by
a deviated septum. She went ahead with
rhinoplasty.
"I had my nose done when I was 25 years old,"
said Sara. "I wouldn't have done mine if I hadn't
hurt it."
Frisbee or no Frisbee, Sara became just one
of millions who undergo plastic surgery each
year. The American Academy of Cosmetic
Surgery estimates that in 1994, the last year,
for which statistics are available, 2.6 million
Americans underwent some type of cosmetic or
reconstructive surgery. Americans are getting
tucked, lifted, expanded or reduced over every
inch of their bodies.
The ever-popular nose job, discreetly called
nose reshaping or rhinoplasty, remains a top
choice not only among the smart set in Holly-
wood but with younger women nationwide.
Metro Detroiters are no different.
While the reasons for having rhinoplasty vary
with the individuals, many women are getting
their noses reshaped either to improve their im-
age or to correct a medical condition.
"I've operated on patients ranging from 14 to

The Right Surgery

PAMELA YOUNG

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Roseanne, Milton Berle, Alan
King, Joan Rivers and Dinah
Shore had it done.
So did Lee Grant, Joel Grey,
Jennifer Grey and Jessica Savitch.
According to The Celebrity Al-
manac, a number of Jewish en-
tertainers have had their nose
reshaped.
Those who haven't? Try Judd

60 years of age but, if
done for cosmetic rea-
sons, it is mostly those
in their late teens
through the 30s or 40s,"
said Dr. Richard Arden,
a reconstructive surgeon
with the Detroit Medical
Center (DMC) affiliated
hospitals.
In many cases,
though, it's more than
vanity that drives indi-
viduals to seek help, Dr.
Arden said. Many pa-
Dr. Richard Arden said
tients generally have
specializes in rhinoplasty and who will agree
facial balance and
problems which make it
to do it.
harmony are the goals.
difficult to breathe.
t's important to determine why someone
Mara Reinstein, a
wants surgery, noted Dr. Michael Busuito,
20-year-old University of Missouri journalism
a plastic surgeon with DMC.
major from Farmington Hills, took the plunge
"I turn down more than half of the peo-
and had her nose redone when she was 16 ple who come in," he said. "They may not be a
years old.
good candidate for what I can realistically offer
"I've always had a deviated septum and them or they may have unrealistic expectations.
breathed through my mouth. It was very loud It's not unusual to see a woman undergoing a
and people in class said it sounded like I was divorce who attributes her marital problems to
asleep when I was really awake," Ms. Rein- the shape of her nose."
stein said. After a neighbor suggested surgery,
From a Jewish standpoint, Rabbi Steven Well
she looked into it and decided it was worth it of Young Israel of Oak Park said motivation is
because "breathing through was really an- the key to whether the cosmetic surgery is ac-
noying."
ceptable under halachic guidelines. If it is to im-
If your heart is set on getting that nice slen-
AHEAD
BY A NOSE page 53
der nose, the next step is to find a surgeon who

Hirsh, Dustin Hoffman and Bar-
bra Streisand.
Nose jobs aren't the only popu-
lar surgery. In its most recent sur-
vey (1994), the American Society
of Plastic and Reconstructive Sur-
geons (ASPRS) notes that Cali-
fornia leads the nation in the
number of plastic surgery proce-
dures, followed by New York,
Florida and Texas.
Californians outnumber the
rest of us in the number of eyelid
surgeries performed (12,164), li-
posuctions (11,843), breast aug-
mentations (9,352), facelifts

I

(7,578) and nose reshapings
(7,557). The state also has the
highest number of plastic sur-
geons — 644 — compared to 117
in Michigan.
One note of caution: These fig-
ures only compare surgeons who
belong to the ASPRS and cases
performed by its members. The
figures could be higher.
How does the nation compare
overall? Dr. Michael Busuito, a
plastic surgeon with the Detroit
Medical Center affiliated hospi-
tals, said national figures indicate
that rhinoplasty is the most pop-

ular procedure, but liposuction is
rapidly overtaking it.
Women make up the vast ma-
jority of candidates for plastic
surgery, and the type of surgery
requested varies with age. Women
between the ages of 19 and 34
were more likely to choose breast
augmentation and nose reshap-
ing. Those between 35 and 50
chose liposuction and eyelid
surgery. Teens, 18 and under,
went overwhelmingly for the nose
job. 0