THE
BUSINESS
Facing Down Flaws (continued from page 52)
Mead By A Nose (continued from page 53)
cover cosmetic alterations, many
say that is not an obstacle they are
willing to let get in the way.
"Surgery made me happy with
myself," said Sandra Poli, 53, of
Wyandotte, a patient at the Skin
Rejuvenation Center who under-
went laser surgery on her entire
face last May. "I had a lot of lines
and craters that you could drive
through around my mouth. I said
to myself, 'My sister doesn't have
these, my mother doesn't have
these, why should I?"
The procedure was somewhat
painful and kept her indoors for
five days — doctor's orders — but
within two months the wrinkles
that troubled Ms. Poli were con-
siderably minimized.
Today there is a real emphasis
on looking good and feeling good,
said Dr. Ted Golden, a plastic sur-
geon in Troy who specializes in fa-
cial surgery. As baby boomers
reach middle age, the demand for
procedures that will erase signs of
age will increase, he said.
In fact, patients ages 30 to 55
make up 60 percent of Dr. Golden's
practice, and he is not alone. Ac-
cording to a recent survey, the av-
erage age of patients of members
of the American Academy of Cos-
metic Surgery was 31 to 36.
"The idea that a 70-year-old
grandma is the only one getting a
facelift just isn't true anymore," Dr.
Golden said. "You dress nicely,
watch your diet, work out at the
gym three days a week. Why not
have cosmetic surgery at 40 and
spend the rest of your life looking
good?"
Dr. William Sabbaugh, a plas-
tic surgeon at the Straith Clinic in
Bingham Farms, agrees.
"There's no correct age to start
cosmetic surgery," he said. "With
so much stress placed on personal at the Straith Hospital in South-
appearance these days, many see field is usually required.
cosmetic surgery as just another
"I've never been overweight,"
extension of that."
said Terry Fike, 54, of Rochester
And as oral surgeons, derma- Hills, a recent patient of Dr. Sab-
tologists, ear, nose and throat baugh's, "but after four chil-
surgeons and others get into Dr. Robert S. dren, I had a lot of loose skin
the field once dominated by Singer: Scalp and a protruding stomach.
plastic surgeons, cosmetic specialist. No matter how much I exer-
surgery is becoming more ac-
cised, I just couldn't get the
cessible and more visible than ever fat off," she said.
before, Dr. Sabbaugh said.
A tummy tuck and liposuction
The Straith Clinic, which opened were her solution.
over 50 years ago as one of the very
"I just got to a point in my life,
first plastic surgery clinics in the my children were grown, I was
area, now specializes in cosmetic traveling a lot, wearing different
and reconstructive procedures such clothes. I wanted a flat stomach,"
as tummy tucks, rhinoplasty, Ms. Fike said.
breast surgeries, facelifts and more.
"Cosmetic surgery is a society-
And while patients undergoing driven type of business," said Dr.
most of these surgeries were once Robert S. Singer, a cosmetic der-
hospitalized for several days, doc- matologist in Southfield.
tors are now able to complete many
"With all the attention paid to
of the procedures on an outpatient youth and the ability to restore
basis in an operating room on the things, there's a natural tendency
premises.
[to want cosmetic surgery]."
For patients undergoing more
One of Dr. Singer's specialties is
extensive surgeries such as turn- hair restoration surgery, a proce-
my tucks or facelifts, a 24-hourstay dure that moves hair from the back
of the head, which is usually per-
manent and not subject to the hor-
mones that cause balding, to the
front of the head where balding
According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, over 2.6
usually occurs. The result is per-
million Americans got tucked, peeled, lasered and reshaped in 1994,
manently growing hair in the front
the last year for which statistics are available.
of the head.
Not surprisingly, over 2 million of the patients were women. Most
Although the procedure has
of t,hern underwent vein surgery, followed by a chemical peel to smooth
been around for over 30 years, Dr.
wrinkles and scars.
Singer said improved technology,
Men, on the other hand, opted first for hair transpla -nt/restoration
such as moving one or two hairs
procedures, followed by liposuction to remove excess fat.
at a time rather than several, has
Other facts:
resulted in a much more natural
* Vein surgery (sclerotherapy) was the most popular procedure;
look and growing popularity. The
pectoral and buttock implants were the least.
procedure can be tedious, he not-
* 34 percent of cosmetic surgery patients were between the ages
ed, but the results are well worth
of 35 and 50, followed by individuals betwee -a 26 and 34. People over
it.
61 were least likely to subMit to cosmetic surgery.
Last year, over 200,000 people
* For teenagers 18 and under, rhinoplasty (nose jobs) was the No
had hair transplantations, mak-
1 singery choice, followed by ear surgery and male breast reduction.
ing it the fourth most popular form
* For the 18 to 34 set, breast augmentation and chemical peels
of cosmetic surgery in the United
were most popular. Least popular was derm.a.brasion.
States behind vein surgery, chem-
* The most expensive invasive surgeries were facelifts and jaw
ical peels and liposuction.
iriodifications at a national average of $4,500. The least expensive
And as baby boomers continue
were eyelid surgery and liposuction at a national average of $1,650.
to age, technology continues to im-
* May and June were the most pop linr months for cosmetic s-urgery,
prove, and social stigmas continue
July and December were least popular.
to change, many in the cosmetic
surgery industry are banking on
numbers such as those to keep on
growing.
Surgical Stats
❑
prove one's health, either emo-
tional or physical, then it is allow-
able.
"Basically, there is a prohibition
in the Torah against bodily dam-
age," he said. "But if someone is so
distressed over his or her looks that
he or she is emotionally disturbed,
then there is a license to do bodi-
ly damage."
Both Drs. Arden and Busuito
also stress the importance of mo-
tivation. If a woman comes in for
a consultation accompanied by her
husband or boyfriend, Dr. Busuito
will meet with her in private to de-
termine who really wants the
surgery. Patients must want to do
it for themselves, not for their
spouse or boyfrieid, he said.
`This is real surgery and as with
any other surgery, there are nev-
er guarantees," Dr. Busuito said.
"If you are careful in your patient
selection and the patient's moti-
vation is correct, you get good re-
sults."
Although looking like Morgan
Fairchild or Julia Ormond may be
every woman's dream, forget
searching for photos or comput-
er-enhanced pictures of perfect
noses, said Dr. Arden.
"I discourage patients from
bringing in such photos because
there are different nasal qualities
which determine outcome," he said.
"For example, Morgan Fairchild
has thin, delicate skin; someone
with thicker skin won't have the
same outcome because thick, oily
skin heals with more scar tissue
formation and can camouflage un-
derlying cartilage modifications. I
try to get a feel for what the patient
wants to achieve, and we discuss
various approaches and realistic
expectations."
Facial balance and harmony are
the ultimate goals of such plastic
surgery. Many prospective patients
also have flat cheekbones or a
weak chin that is set farther back.
"We don't look at the nose as a
single entity but in context with
the rest of the face," said Dr. Ar-
den. "If the chin is weak, we can of-
fer a chin implant to complement
the overall result. If there is a big
dorsal hump on the nose, the nasal
tip may appear underprojected and
should be considered in the context
of this illusion."
tit after the surgeon is se-
lected and the design of the
new nose is decided, the last
step is preparing for the
surgery.
Most nose surgeries last from
one to three hours and are done on
an outpatient basis, either in a hos-
pital or an outpatient facility. Ap-
proximately 95 percent of all
patients have local anesthetic with
a sedative given through an IV.
Two commonly used surgical
techniques are the open approach
and the intranasal or closed ap-
proach. With the open approach,
B