Whom to Meet ??? What to do next???

I think these are the most common questions that pop up in any one's mind when he or she is contemplating a bodily change.

Day in and day out we are bombarded with ads promising the earth, the sky and everything in between. Marketing is meant to sell a product and hence needs to highlight only the positives and hide the negatives of any product. So on we go checking “ it” out.

Guaranteed fairness , guaranteed inch loss, guaranteed weight loss, guaranteed hair growth, guaranteed this guaranteed that!!! Sounds familiar??? I'm sure it does.

I have nothing against these ads but as the saying goes... “ If its too good to be true.. most probably it isn't true !!!” Similarly promising guaranteed, results on a body where no two bodies are similar is “too good to be true”.

All this adds to the confusion already prevailing in one;s mind. So one might say, that then why do people go for it? I think it all is because of :

1. The basic fear people have regarding going under the knife, hospitals, doctors and all that.

2. That treatment has “ Guaranteed results”

3. We as doctors tell the limitations of the procedure and the possible complications which puts people off.

4. As doctors we cannot take short cuts, the basic work up and the whole procedure has to be done , which is another deterrent.

So just to put things into perspective, I thought of putting all the points one has to think about before going for a modification of one's body. Sort of like a “ DUMMIES guide to .......” Ill put it in three headings:

1. From a patients point what one should know

2. What and how to know about the procedure

3. What to look for in the treatment provider

What a patient should know:

Read about it in my blog link already posted here

http://cosmesisindia.blogspot.com/2007/01/whos-up-for-makeover.html

Know about your Procedure:

1. Once you know what you want to get done, read about the procedure.

2. You can find information about the procedure on the net by doing a search on any of the popular search engines. Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, etc being a few of them

3. Read about all the options available for what you want to get done

4. Search for possible complications with regards to the procedure.

Educating your self about the options and the procedure will give you new insights into the procedure and will help you mentally prepare for them.

What to know about your treatment provider:

1. Read about your procedure and know who is qualified to such a procedure. You will find lots of people claiming to do certain procedures in certain center's.

2. Surgical procedures are done by plastic surgeons, only they are trained to do them and licensed by the Medical Council of India to perform them.

3. The Association of Plastic Surgeons of India ( APSI) is the the authority granting certification to all the plastic surgeons in India.( www.apsi.in)

4. Don't feel shy of asking your doctor about his certification and training. I have many of my patients asking me these questions. Patients coming from abroad make it a point to find out these details.

5. Talk to your surgeon in detail. Place in front of him all you fears and apprehensions. Most of your doubts will be cleared but don't get offended if they do no respond to some questions by giving you the worst possible scenario. It is done so you realize that all surgeries are serious matters .

6. Always beware a doctor who does not tell you the complications or tell you that there are no complications at all. Either, he hasn't done enough surgeries to see complications or he is lying about them.

7. Don't rush into a procedure. Always take your time to think about it after discussion with your doctor. I NEVER operate on a patient after one consultation. I always call them at least a second or third time before I operate on them. This is because I want them to be sure of what they are undergoing.

So keeping all these in mind, just to recapitulate:

1. Be clear about what you want.

2. Vague requests get vague results, if at all anyone operates on them.

3. Educate yourself about the procedure, who should do them, the various options and the possible complications.

4. As far as the body is concerned “ Guarantees don't work !!!” Every thing has its limitations and one has to work within those limitations to achieve the best results.

5. Know about the credentials of your doctor.

6. Surgical procedures have to be done in properly equipped Operating theaters and not in some “ clinic”, with care regarding sterility and safety equipment.

7. Please remember if a doctor is saying “NO “ to a procedure there must be a reason behind it. Ask him the reasons and trust his decisions. All doctors want to provide you with a good result and most will refuse a patient if they know what he or she expects is unrealistic.

8. Always follow orders with regards to quitting smoking , cleaning the wound, wearing garments, taking medicines and taking rest.

9. Remember you can rush yourself and the surgeon but you cannot rush your body to heal. It will take its own time.

10. Trust your doctor ,be sure to keep in touch with him and inform him of any problems you might be facing, instead of going to another doctor who doesn't know what exactly was done.

The aim of this blog is to help you make educated decision about the procedure , to educate you as to where to go to and what to do as a next step, once a decision to undergo a procedure has been taken. A well educated , motivated patient is a happy patient as he is fully aware of the consequences and the expected outcome.

Hence don't be afraid, go ahead, take the decision, but just make an educated decision which will be of a great help to you and to your doctor.

Dr.Surindher

www.cosmesisindia.com

Move over ladies... The Men R Here!!!!

Any reporter or journalist who has met me has invariably put this question to me....." do men get cosmetic surgery done too???"

Well, the answer to this is very simple.. " Yes!!!"

But hidden in that " yes" are a lot of other things. Men have been getting cosmetic surgery even in the past but the ration of women is to men undergoing the procedure was maybe 9 women to 1 man or less. But in the last few years there has been a sea change in the number of men who are exploring surgical options, with the ratio almost coming to about 5 women to 5 men. So hows that for equality?

With a change in attitudes in today's world , the classical image of a man rugged n unkempt has taken a beating. Women of today like their men well groomed, smelling good, with manicured hands as well as a close shave and of course they want their men to be fit too, hence emerges the " New METRO SEXUAL Male " of today.

So the man of today doesn't mind taking care of what he wears , how he dresses and how he looks. I can tell by my own experience, when 11 years back my sister suggested I get a facial before my marriage..Ii scoffed at the idea and threw a tantrum at her ,but recently when my dermatologist suggested I come in for a peel, Ii said yes... though haven't been able to get to it. But it surprised me as just as much as it did my sister when I told her this.

Skin, be it a man's or a woman's needs to be taken care of in the same way.. and more for the man because of repeated trauma daily in the form of shaving, traffic and being out, etc. Similarly as people are becoming more health conscious, so also there is a perceptible increase in consciousness about their " Body Image".

More and more men are coming in asking for solutions to a variety of problems. But each problem has its differences as to the approach to it in a male and in a female because of differences in the body composition . Hence this blog will just try and touch on different aspects of cosmetic surgery for men and the common sought out procedures.

1.Gynaecomastia: ( Male Breast)
A very common condition. Here there is a slight increase of tissue under the nipple areas on the chest. This usually starts in adolescence due to the pubertal hormonal changes and in many it persists into adult hood. This becomes very embarrassing when a person goes to the gym, swimming pool or in the locker room. This is one of the few conditions where we operate on teenagers too, when the condition warrants it. This has taken over the number one spot as the most commonly sought after procedure by men.
The treatment consists of liposuction of the fat with or without a gland removal. The excess skin has to shrink back, for which the patient is required to wear a custom made pressure garment to give him the best results. This is a procedure that definitely gives immense satisfaction to the patient as well as the plastic surgeon. But this is a surgery which can be very easily botched up also, so proper doctor selection is again important.

2.Rhinoplasty( Nose Job)
Till a few years back this was the most common surgery even in men. The procedure is the same as for women with a few basic differences, like the skin in males being more thick, nose tip surgeries have limited results as far as sharpness of tip is concerned, which is one of the commonest requests that we as surgeons get.
Read more about rhinoplasty at

http://cosmesisindia.blogspot.com/2007/02/i-hate-my-nose.html

3. Liposuction :
This is another procedure which is often asked for by men and women equally. The areas to be targeted being the famous " INDIAN PAUNCH" and the "LOVE HANDLE'S". Here fat is sucked out from the abdomen and flanks through small 1cm cuts, 2 or 3 of them, depending on the amount of fat that has to be sucked out and the areas to be targeted.
Post operatively the patient is required to wear a pressure garment vest for the next 3 months to help the skin shrink back and as also helping the swelling go down.


4. Scar Revisions:
"Scarface", was a rage once upon a time , though the movie is still a rage, a scarred face doesn't hold the same charm or intrigue it used to. So scar revision is another common procedure performed. But the problem here is that " Once a scar always a scar"!!!! The only way to correct a scar is by not having it in the first place. A scar can only be revised, reduced, camouflaged.. it can never be erased.
Depending on where and how many scars are present various procedures are done to help reduce the scars or camouflage them into normally present facial creases.

5. Problems with deep lines and wrinkles
Fillers ,BOTOX and CONTOUR threads are now equally becoming a part of a man's schedule as a females. Be it forehead wrinkles, laughter lines around the eyes, deep nasolobial creases all are being tackled with increasing frequency.

6. Hair Transplants :
Another area which is very unique to men and very common affliction with genetic and hormonal influences. Its a whole chapter in itself and just enough to mention here that its a time consuming process and needs a very motivated patient to be able to go through with the procedure and wait for the hair to grow to the necessary length and also go in for second sittings as and when required.
Nowadays, follicular hair transplants are being done where a strip of skin from the back of the head is taken out and from it single hair follicular units are dissected out and transplanted into the bald areas.

Apart from these common operations, other procedure performed for males in varying frequencies are chin and malar implants, jaw reshaping, dermabrasions, calf augmentation , lip reductions, penile lengthening, etc.

So to wrap it up, cosmetic surgery for men is on the rise and is here to stay. But as mentioned earlier properly motivated patient with valid reasons to have a surgery will have the best effort to satisfaction ratio.

So men don't need to be ashamed of attempting to look good. You are not the first one taking the decision to undergo a cosmetic procedure and believe me you wont be the last. But educate yourself properly as to what can be done safely and who is qualified to do it.

Along with proper diet, nutrition , exercise, grooming and clothes, a cosmetic procedure will definitely help in improving one's own body image , helping you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror or wear that tight t shirt when u go to the gym to work out.


Dr.Surindher
www.cosmesisindia.com