Plastic Fantastic
Boob jobs, penis extensions, nose jobs or lipo; elective plastic surgery- to enhance looks- is frowned on by many, but how popular is it here, and why do people put themselves through it? Megha Kehar investigates.
Back in the mid 1990s a bunch of red bikini-clad women running around on a beach made me realise what advanced medical science can do for the human body. Till this day I’m not really sure if anyone who watched Baywatch actually ever gave a shit about all those drowning chumps, who week after week would be saved by these medically enhanced lifeguards, running up to their rescue –with wind in their hair and their augmented lady bits propelling them forward. The chumps would eventually be rescued and everything would be bouncy again. Quality television. Medical science can not only fix what’s broken but it can also takes orders for body customisation. While I am not entirely sure about how these things work, and am probably one of those few people who do not personally know anyone who’s been customised to suit individual taste. Apparently many of us do know people who have gone under the knife to change their appearance, and this is often because of low self-esteem, this psychological abyss exerts, can make people do extreme things heaving them in the direction of the plastic surgeon’s office, reflecting the fact that society is obsessed with perfect bodies and perfect looks. Women spend hours studying themselves in the mirror. Experts say these women do not realise they are actually subconsciously looking for faults, which leads to many more hours of woeful obsession. Contrary to popular perception, men aren’t far behind either. The latest breed of rugged-turned-metrosexual-turned-rugged male is also painfully aware of his bodily attributes that he wants to change or improve. Apparently for every guy who’s thinking about breasts, there are at least five women who have got breasts on their minds. Except that they are finding imperfections and thinking how ugly they look. The breasts are always either too big or too small. It is hardly a surprise then that breast enlargement/reduction surgeries are one of the most popular forms of cosmetic alteration. According to a Guardian report, about 100,000 women in the United Kingdom have had their breasts enlarged. They are keeping the plastic surgeons busy with more than 8,000 operations a year. What’s most alarming is the number of girls under the age of 18 opting for such procedures. While in the USA, more than two million women have had implants and trends suggest the number will grow by up to 12 per cent each year. New Zealand is just waking up to the idea as increasingly more and more women are getting their breasts augmented. According to a Massey University report about 3000 women got a boob job done in 1998. Dr Tristan de Chalain, who practices Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Auckland Plastic Surgical Centre, says the number has increased tremendously since then. He says it’s hard to put a number on it as no real record is maintained of it. “There are about 35 full time plastic surgeons in New Zealand and about 28 are cosmetic surgeons. There are about 14 to 15 in Auckland and there certainly is enough work to keep them busy,” he says. Chalain says each of those surgeons work on about 400 cases a year. “So if you multiply the number of surgeons with 400, that’s your ballpark figure,” he adds. Tracy Young* is about 5’9” and has a skinny frame. The 27-year-old Auckland-based Masters student says she had always struggled with weight issues and one of the main reasons why she got a boob job was to feel better about herself. She says for a “reasonably attractive” person she felt there was something missing. She barely managed to fill out a 32A size bra. Post-op she is a nubile and perky size 34B. “I guess I just didn’t feel very confident. I wanted to look better and I suppose maybe even hotter,” she says. “All my life I have had people mocking me about how flat I am and that I need to grow some boobs.” Young likens her story to that of Baywatch star Pamela Anderson who has had the size of her breasts altered several times. “I was once watching a documentary film about her and she was talking about how when she was in school when a guy poured some water over her top and said, ‘There, maybe now you will grow some boobs’. I thought that was awful. I didn’t want to be seen that way,” she says. She said it took nerves of steel to take the step. “I wasn’t sure what the outcome was going to be. I knew right from the beginning that I didn’t want to go for the overly large and obviously fake ones. I wanted people to look at me and go ‘Ooh’. When I look at myself now, I know this is the way I was supposed to look,” she says. Chalain says it is easy to be critical of women who undergo cosmetic procedures. “It is really not all that frivolous. Think about a woman who has minimal breast tissue. She just has an ion of nipples. All her life she has been teased about it. She doesn’t want to wear a bathing suit in public. And if she knows about this kind of a surgery, would it be wrong if she went for it and gained some self confidence?” he asks. “It is not to be scorned at. I’m not talking about Pamela Andersons of the world. We do get frivolous cases. We do get 18-year-olds and we do discourage them but then there are women who’ve been breastfeeding and now want their breasts restored to their original shape,” he adds. A little vanity is important, he says. “Vanity is what makes us get up in the morning and brush our teeth,” he says. But what do men think about artificially augmented breasts? I risked getting some funny looks to find an answer to that. I walked down Queen Street asking men what they thought of fake breasts. Interestingly enough, almost everyone I talked to said they weren’t a fan. Thirty-year-old accountant Andrew Lowe said, “It doesn’t turn me on. I prefer natural breasts and all parts of a woman's body to be natural. I'm obviously talking for myself and not representing all males here. Some guys just love big tits and wouldn't care if they're fake or real. But for me it would conjure up images of porn stars and that whole fake sex scenario,” he says. He said he’s never felt fake boobs so he can’t really compare what they’re like to real ones. “I would imagine they don't feel so nice though.” US tourist Steve Woodhouse thinks it’s an unnecessary waste of time and money. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he says about plastic surgery in general. “If it's for making life better because of abnormalities or something of that nature, I'm all about it. If it's cosmetic in nature because some vain person needs to feel better about themselves, eh... it’s not for me. But I guess some people feel they need it,” he says. He adds he would rather be with a girl who was smaller and looked natural than a girl who had larger breasts that were obviously false. “I'm probably in the minority here, but I can't stand them. They can be so blatantly fake.” As if low appreciation from men and high cost wasn’t demotivating enough, associated health hazards make breast surgeries quite an unwanted risk. Over the past few years, several cases of women who have had to be rushed to hospital and operated upon immediately after their saline implants ruptured have been reported all over the world. Then there are risks of breast and brain cancer because of such surgeries. Dr Chalain says the implants carry a lifetime warranty. What they do not guarantee is how the implants will react with the body. “There is a 10 to 15 percent risk of complication. But for every 10 to 15 stories of a breast surgery gone wrong, there are 85 perfectly happy women,” he says. Besides cosmetic or not, any kind of surgery entails a 10-15 percent risk, he adds. Another problem with such surgeries is that they are not permanent. If you get it done pretty young, you could end up needing several more in your lifetime. “It varies with individual when they will need more work done. A young woman in her 20s has very different requirements to a woman say in her 40s. Individual choices about the kind of implants also matter. But yeah most women will require a revision or some change at some stage,” Chalain says. While breast augmentation is generally the first thing that comes to mind when talking of plastic surgery, something that is the preserve of email spam boxes is male enhancement procedure or penis enlargement procedure as it is casually referred to as. None of the guys I accosted on Queen Street had had a penis enlargement or knew anyone who might have. It made me question the veracity of such procedures. Chalain says that those emails we get in our mailboxes are certainly “money making scams” but such procedures do exist. “Penile lengthening and enlargement are not commonly performed in New Zealand. Most men who see me are looking for liposuction or treatment of man boobs,” he says. Like woman, for men it’s all about gaining some self confidence. “Our society judges people on the basis of appearance. Think about a middle-aged manager who has just been fired. He is now back in the market and competing with guys who have just come out of business schools, a surgery can make him look 10 years younger,” Chalain says. And like women, men too have the option to go for implants. Inflatable implants. But don’t go for it unless you are completely comatose down there. This method helps men get an erection on demand but the problem with the surgery is that the implants can’t be removed. Ever. Nick Smith* (35yrs) says he doubts the efficacy of any such methods but thinks it is definitely something he’d be interested in trying out if he knew for sure if worked. “I think it is a waste of time. It might help you feel more confident about yourself, but won't actually increase your performance in the bedroom. In fact, it can apparently cause problems in that area. “I don’t think the size matters but I guess some women like big ones. And I think you do feel more masculine if you have a bigger penis. I know if my penis was bigger I'd quite possibly feel more manly,” he says. *Names changed