By: Paolo Lorenzana
additional reporting by: Lionel Lopez-Dee
Ultimately, the fate of a face lies in the hands of a capable surgeon who can balance psychology, and the ability to say ‘no.’
Of course, whether your surgeon specializes in cosmetic or plastic, a responsible one would tell you that a nose too pointed does not suit any man whether or not he is of Caucasian descent. Or the smokers are at a higher risk of excessive bleeding. The right doctor will tell you everything – especially the complications that could happen after the surgery and what you have to do to maintain them. “People think that when you get implants, it’ll give you form, but it only gives you bulk. You still have to work out so that you can develop definition of the muscle. If it’s just bulk, they’ll look like man-boobs,” says Dr. Ducut
Even after he had liposuction performed on his body. Anthony has taken great strains to retain the V-shaped torso he gained, hiring a personal trainer and continuing the good nutrition and exercise he began before his surgery. “My surgeon told me everything I needed to know before the surgery – that there would be no immediate results and that I’d be bloated, black, and blue for the first few weeks. He also mentioned that it would not be a guaranteed that I’d have a six-pack after the liposuction if I didn’t exercise,” says Anthony, who despite being able to resume work after one day of post=surgical recovery, was informed that he could only reveal his stomach six months after the liposuction.
“The success of your procedure always begins with the doctor-patient relationship and follow-up consultations are crucial,” says Dr. Ducut. Ultimately, the fate of a face lies in the hands of a capable surgeon who can balance psychology, and the ability to say ‘no.’ “I cannot volunteer a suggestion because it’s bad ethics. The last thing I want to do is to create insecurities in people. The only thing I can do is to take out the fix whatever needs fixing and whatever happens after that, I have no more control over,” explains Carlos Lasa Jr., MD, who has practices plastic surgery for almost 20 years. “Of course nothing is a dramatic as going under-the-knife, but then life goes on and until scientist determine how to control the aging gene, everything we do is temporary.”
Still, cosmetic surgery has come a long way, from repairing the faces of injured WWII soldiers to offering Johnny Depp’s jaw line for identity osmosis. There are undoubtedly the great things that can result from some surgical self-improvement. Even the surgeons who are reflections of their practice have sought a little physical boost here and there, considering that Dr. Ducut and Dr. Lucero have treated themselves to the fruits of their practice through pigmentation correction and the ASCT procedure, respectively. Of course, you don’t even have to think about the reconstructive and rejuvenating benefits of surgery.
But I never did get to that scheduled consultation. After all my expectations – to rid myself of my face in order to conform to the world’s aesthetic – didn’t seem very realistic to begin with. May be it was also the realization that there was a sort of nobility in pushing that boulder of obligation at the gym just as I pushed it with work and all the other aspects of life, fighting the harder fight with fat around my neck and bags under my eyes. Indeed, there was nobility in every wrinkle, frown line and insistent beer belly that hollered their stakes as the last vestiges of all that is natural. It simply comes down to the fact that if it ain’t broken, there’s probably no need to fix it. Then again, if the talentless guy who looks like Aga Muhlach ever gets hired over me, the good doctor better ready his scalpel.