More Men Seek Plastic Surgery

Men have slowly been coming around to plastic surgery — very slowly.

According to the Plastic Surgery Information Service, about 11 percent of all cosmetic surgery in 1999 was performed on men. That’s up 2 percent from the previous year.

But Arkansas appears to be lagging behind the nation. After all, it’s hard to convince a farmer in Hogeye that he needs liposuction.

Dr. H. Daniel Atwood said the number of male patients at his Northwest Arkansas Plastic Surgery Clinic in Fayetteville has increased by about 300 percent over the past few years. That percentage looks huge because only about 1 percent of his patients were male five years ago. Now, about 3 percent of his patients are men.

Atwood said most of the men he sees at his clinic fall into two categories:

• middle-aged men “who are just beginning to see some aging changes and they’re distraught about that,” and

• men in their retirement years who don’t want to see loose skin at the front of the neck, in particular.

Atwood said the middle-aged men are more inclined to have extensive surgery, such as a face lift. The retired men are more likely to want minimal surgery, such as eyelid or neck reduction.

“If they’re fortunate enough to enjoy good health on the inside, they may want to look on the outside like they feel on the inside,” Atwood said.

The surgery costs vary from about $2,000 to $7,000 depending on the procedure.

Breasts and lips

Although Atwood is seeing more male patients, the vast majority of his patients are still women, and they are primarily concerned about one area.

“More than half of my work is on the female breast,” Atwood said.

Breast augmentation has changed considerably since its inception in the 1960s, Atwood said.

The silicone-gel breast implants of the 1970s have been replaced with safer versions that aren’t likely to cause any problems, such as leakage. Silicone-gel implants are still used in reconstructive surgery, Atwood said, but for women simply wanting larger breasts, water- and saline-filled implants are preferred.

New techniques have made “fat grafting” more reliable, Atwood said.

“Now, we do what is called fat sculpting because we can take it out and put it back,” he said. “Putting it back is a lot more difficult than taking it out.”

One of the places where fat is often transferred is the lips. Many women want large, pouty lips, but collagen injections only last for about three months, he said. Transferring a small amount of fat from the abdomen to the lips can keep the lips plump for a lifetime, Atwood said.

“It doesn’t take much to make a nice change,” he said.

The procedure isn’t as scary as it sounds because a large needle is used instead of a scalpel. The tissue is coming from the same patient who is receiving it, so the body will be inclined to recognize it and have no trouble accepting the fat.

Four in area

Atwood is one of only four plastic surgeons in Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville has two, Rogers has one, and another plastic surgeon splits his time between Fayetteville and Fort Smith.

Atwood said not all cosmetic surgeons are plastic surgeons, with plastic surgery requiring more training.

“It takes about as long to become a plastic surgeon as it does to be a heart surgeon,” Atwood said. “Most people don’t realize that. I was 34 years old before they turned me loose on the public.”

Atwood, who is now 50, said he finished medical school in 1977 and completed his residency in 1985.