Cosmetic Surgery for Men
Cosmetic Surgery for Men
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The male face and physique is obviously very different from the female’s. The shape and balance of the face, the more masculine angles juxtaposed with universal natural features are important to define, especially as we get older.
Men tend to age better than women. Facial lines are acceptable and can often add handsomely to a man’s face. However, for many of us, facial lines and deep grooves make us look older than we feel. Preventing deep lines from forming is as important as addressing resting lines in the brow and forehead and crow’s feet. A very popular treatment and a way of preventing wrinkles from being obvious at rest is a neurotoxin like Botox or Dysport.
Botulinum toxin now popularized as Botox and Dysport and Xeomin have the same mechanism of action by paralyzing the muscles that cause wrinkles to the glabellar area (between your brows), forehead, and crow’s feet. By using very small doses of botulinum toxin, a skillful injector will not only reduce or eliminate wrinkles but allow the forehead to still animate and raise the brow hairline as a chemical brow lift when needed. The effect of each injection lasts for 3 to 4 months. It takes at least 3 days to take effect and sometimes 2 weeks.
Don’t be surprised to see “bad jobs” done by many doctors and nurses who create a weird look, such as drooping funny shaped brows. This is because of a poor understanding of the facial anatomy. Just because a doctor, nurse or dentist offers Botox or facial filler doesn’t mean he or she knows the anatomy well enough to do a good job.
If it is done properly, almost everyone responds well to the treatment. In a few, the results may last longer or may not last as long. A lot depends on the person as well as how forceful the forehead, glabella and crow’s feet animate. Botulinum toxin does not take away deep lines that are caused by years and years of wrinkling, especially between the brows. The risk of a dropped eyebrow or eyelid is usually associated with migration of the toxin or improper injection. However, the risk is very small for a skillful injector of botulinum toxin (Dysport, Botox, Xeomin), which will give you a more relaxed and aesthetic Natural Look.
When the facial lines are deep because of repetitive animation of strong facial muscles, deep grooves form (such as Leo DiCaprio). In this case Botox may not be enough. A filler may be useful in reducing or eliminating a deep facial line or groove.
Facial fillers are also great for loss of facial volume. Sculptra, a polylactic acid polymer that is used to stimulate collagen production and increase volume to the face, was popularized by the amazing effects seen in men with facial atrophy from HIV. Other popular fillers like Juvederm, Restylane, Voluma, Belotero, are hyaluronic acid, which is very useful when small amounts are used.
Most of you want to look less tired and more youthful but not look swollen or puffy. Replacing volume loss in your face with these products is quite challenging to do correctly and achieve an improved natural look. What you think you may want is perhaps not what would benefit you the most. Both hyaluronic acid and polylactic acid polymer powder are great products but work in very different ways in the body. Hyaluronic acid attracts water while the polylactic acid polymer stimulates collagen growth. A masterful injector of these products will have the proper knowledge and skill to solve the problems of your face to give you The Natural Look. To avoid the swollen appearance, Dr. Kim uses an algorithm, based on his scientific experience with both products.
SURGICAL
As early as in a 30 year old man, increased collection of fat in the neck and abdomen occurs due to several factors. First, our metabolism changes. Second, we are less active. Third, we have more responsibilities. Fourth, we have more stress because of the increased responsibilities of work or personal relationships or marriage. This does not mean we cannot go to the gym or eat a balanced diet. We try but it’s difficult to get the love handles off or the fat deposited under the chin. For this, liposuction is a pretty reliable cosmetic procedure to help you with looking better and more svelt. You still need to eat healthily and exercise but you will feel better about not carrying around the extra bulges.
Body Contouring/Abdominoplasty
When an obese person loses a lot of weight, skin and fat may hang over the lower abdomen and flanks. No matter what exercise or diet you may try, the overhanging skin and fat will not go away. Body contouring surgery such as an abdominoplasty or a lower body lift would get rid of the overhanging skin and fat. This operation requires meticulous attention to detail and proper understanding of surgical technique. Dr. Kim has 14 years of experience in performing body contouring operations.
Sometimes in the 40’s and usually in the 50’s and older, there is both loss of facial volume and elasticity of the face and neck. The fat from the lower eyelids become more prominent and the volume of the cheeks recede. The lower face jowls and the neck line is not what it used to be. Therefore, an understanding of both replacing volume in the face and tightening the lower face and neck is needed to restore youth and vitality to these important areas.
Oftentimes, ptosis of the upper eyelid(s) causes problems with the shape and appearance of the eye(s). Ptosis of the upper eyelid is when the upper eyelid is in lower position than normal because the levator muscle does not elevate the eyelid normally. Ptosis may be on one side, which causes asymmetry, or on both sides. The brow position also needs to be assessed, since the position of the brow affects the position and shape of the upper eyelid. Therefore, a brow lift may be needed in concert with correcting the droopy (ptotic) upper eyelid. Mild upper eyelid ptosis can be corrected with a blepharoplasty. More severe forms of ptosis may require a frontalis sling. A proper evaluation is needed to determine what may be the most appropriate treatment.
Microgenia, or small chin, is not desirable to many people because of the way it distorts the face. A strong looking jaw is considered to be more masculine, even before the Greek Gods were created. In order to correct the problem of a smaller or ‘weak’ chin, an implant is needed. There are two types of implants: silicone and porous plastic. I prefer the porous plastic implant because your own tissue will grow into the implant and there is less risk of migration and infection. The surgical approach that I prefer is an incision under the chin. This allows easy access to the lower part of the mandible (chin) and offers less risk of mental nerve injury and infection. It is important to have an overall evaluation of your jaw and to make sure the weak chin is not caused by malocclusion.
Improving the jaw line with a chin implant can significantly transform the way a person looks. Because the implant is permanent, implant choice and surgical technique are both important.
The aesthetic male nose is quite different than a woman’s nose. Understanding proper shape and proportions and angles is important when performing a rhinoplasty. Rhinoplasty is a very difficult operation to do consistently well. A good nose operation can transform the way you look, but it needs to be performed with expert judgment and technique.
NON-Surgical Rhinoplasty
The shape of your nose can also be improved with hyaluronic acid fillers or Radiesse. With the longer lasting hyaluronic acid, Voluma, the improvement should last longer than a year. With Juvederm, Restylane and Radiesse, the product may last a couple of months to 8 months but usually not more than one year. The injection of hyaluronic acid or Radiesse has to be done with meticulous care in order to avoid damaging the blood supply to your nose. This is easily done with proper knowledge of the anatomy.
A few adolescent young men develop abnormally enlarged breast tissue. This is called gynecomastia, usually present in overweight adolescents but can also occur in slender athletic youths. The only way to deal with this problem is to wear two t-shirts and not take off your shirt in public. This may be the way many men deal with gynecomastia for their entire lives. Having enlarged breast tissue is not normal male anatomy. This requires an operation. It takes surgical experience and skill to perform this operation through small incisions made around the lower half of the nipple areolar complex.
Bad scars usually arise from trauma and surgery. Most doctors in the Emergency Room and surgeons do not know all of the important details of creating great scars. Revision of bad looking scars is a good idea only if a plastic surgeon has the right set of skills. Please click on the link to scars to understand more about the different types of scars and how to decide on what to do.
Dr. Kim proudly serves the gay communities of the West Village, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Soho, East Village, Lower East Side, Gramercy, Union Square, Tribeca, all of Manhattan as well as for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Staten Island.
The videos from Understand.com below were not created for men. Videos for men are being developed now and will be available in the future. Once the videos for men are available, we will make them available to you. In the meantime, you will be able to get a decent understanding of most of the procedures from the animated videos contained below.