You don’t have to be ashamed if you find yourself more conscious about your looks than your sport buddies. After all, women to longer have first dibs on looking good to feel better.
In the Philippines, even men undergo cosmetic surgery. Marlon O. Lajo, MD, plastic, aesthetic, and reconstructive surgeon, says that he has an average number of 10 male patients per month. These men approximately up to 40 percent of his total consults. “The Filipino man has already evolved into a person with valid concerns about his physical attributes and well-being,” he says. “It is therefore imperative that he be made aware of the available surgical procedure which may further enhance and improve these physical traits.”
THE HIGH FIVES
In his years of local practice, Dr. Lajo observed that the five most common surgical procedures men avail of are:
1. Rhinoplasty or “nose lift.” This also includes a resection of the side of the nose to reduce the size of the nostrils.
2. Eyelid surgery (deep setting and eye bag removal)
3. Liposuction (abdomen and “love handles” or flank areas)
4. Scar revision
5. Brow Lift
If you ever wondered what you might have looked like with a better-shaped nose or without your receding hairline, then you are not alone. Dr. Marlon Lajo says that the five most common body parts men consider having surgically done are:
1. Nose
2. Eyelids
3. Abdomen
4. Butt
5. Hair
CORRECTING MISCONCEPTIONS
Simply wondering about the unknown leads to nothing. Dr. Marlon Lajo clears two of the most common misconceptions about cosmetic surgery:
1. Minutes after exiting the operating room then looking at the mirror, you will immediately see the handsome mug you just bought. Wrong. :Patients always expects instant results after undergoing cosmetic surgery, as what is usually depicted in the movies or in the television,: Dr. Lajo says. “After surgery patients will experience a course of swelling edema and pain as part of the normal healing process.” When time heals all physical wounds, only then will result show.
2. Cosmetic surgery makes it possible to look like your favorite celebrity. Wrong again. “These patients who think so are not ideal candidates for cosmetic surgery because they have unrealistic expectations,” says Dr. Lajo. Let’s face it. Only in dreams can we become Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise lookalikes.
WEIGHING YOUR CHOICES
Before you decide to have your doctor nip and tuck some inches off your body, consider first the pros and cons. Dr. Lajo says that some advantages of cosmetic surgery include improved physical attributes and take at youth for older patients. Both of which may result into enhanced self-esteem, which may be handy during job interviews.
On the other hand, some risks you may have to keep in mind are: ugly scars, permanent disfigurement, and the possibility of death from a major surgery. “These risks of cosmetic surgery can be minimized, however, if the surgery is done by a certified and duly trained cosmetic surgeon [who has had] formatting training of 6-8 years under an institution which has been duly recognized and accredited by the Philippine College of Surgeons and the Philippine Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons,” he adds. “These are only a number of hospitals which have an accredited plastic surgery training program in the Philippines.”