I am often asked how Michael Jackson looked the way he did prior to his death.
I answer that by saying he had unrealistic expectations and found a surgeon who told him what he wanted to hear. There you have the makings of a disaster!
Last week I saw a patient from the East Coast who exemplifies this issue. Let’s call her Mary. She looked like Jennifer Lawrence, who is someone I would not operate on because she doesn’t need anything done.
Mary was an attractive woman who was of normal weight, size and pretty. She had had her nose done as well as her cheeks and upper lip.
When I asked her what bothered her she said she thought her nose could be further refined and thought she DEFINITELY needed a mini facelift. She is 22 years old.
I explained to her that her nose did not need any further surgery since it looked great and the risk outweighed the gain.
Furthermore, that she had NO excess skin to be removed and this would only leave her with wide scars since her skin was too tight at 22 years of age. She absolutely disagreed with me pulling back the skin on her cheeks to show me what she wanted done and how “simple” this would be.
I then explained to her that I only make money when I operate on people, so she should understand this if nothing else. Furthermore, I told her that she could walk five minutes from my office and find 10 plastic surgeons willing to operate on her, but she still remained adamant. I told her I thought that a therapist might help her as she was very pretty and no surgery was indicated.
This made her even angrier.
I said, “Don’t you realize I’m not making any money when I tell you NOT to have surgery? I only make money when I do surgery on you. So you should really pay attention when I tell you that. I am trying to prevent you from having a very bad result if you have surgery– that 50 percent of my practice is revision noses and faces who have had bad results–not just minor problems that most surgeons have rarely.”
Well, she did not care and unfortunately left in a huff and will probably find a surgeon to do what she wants and will start down the road of misery.
Good surgeons try to guide their patients and some have better skills than others to do more complex work. But patients like Mary want something that cannot be achieved, so make sure you see a surgeon who will tell you if what you want will improve your looks or create those awful plastic surgery results that many celebrities get because they go to a surgeon who tells them what they want to hear.
Here are two women in their 20s who wanted plastic surgery. This is what happens when a doctor operates on you without considering your age and if you really need it.
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