When he prefers the scalpel
Which type of plastic surgery do men “click” most? Liposculpture. Top priority: the elimination of unsightly “love handles” on abdomen and waist. The important thing is to have the necessary preventive checks to make sure that the fatty deposits are subcutaneous and not visceral, meaning deep, as is often the case with men. In this case, liposculpture would be useless. The same technique is also used to mitigate fatty deposits near the mammary glands. This is known as gynaecomastia and pseudo-gynaecomastia, known commonly as enlarged breasts in men. There is a difference between the two conditions: liposculpture works only in the case of excess fat (adipomastia or pseudo gynaecomastia). If there is actually an enlargement of the mammary gland (gynaecomastia), this has to be reduced with a subcutaneous mastectomy, followed by removal of the excess fat and skin, leaving a tiny scar around the nipple. This is achieved using the “round block” technique, which consists in the removal of a cutaneous ring around the areola, which is then stitched.
Eyelids and double chins
And what about the face? The most popular surgery is undoubtedly blepharoplasty which, remodelling the eyelids, can make you look roughly ten years younger than you really are, with no trauma. It is performed via the conjunctiva, making the scar invisible, cutting along the natural line of the upper eyelid or, if there is excess skin to be removed, making a short, invisible incision under the lower eyelashes. The excess skin and fat are removed and the incisions are closed with tiny stitches. If there is also ptosis (drooping tissue) covering the periorbital arc, it is possible to combine the blepharoplasty with the application of special threads that raise the zygomatic area, “opening” the eyes even more. The only problem is the possibility of creating a “round eye” effect which lacks expression and is not very natural. This is caused by the drooping of the lower lid following the removal of the skin. There is now a new technique (used in conjunction with the previous technique) to prevent this. It is called canthopexy and consists in shortening the lateral eye ligaments and lifting the orbicular muscle.
Another type of surgery which is very popular among men is double chin removal. This is a condition which makes them look older and subtracts beauty and harmony from the facial profile. Young men can suffer from this too: caused by being slightly overweight and worsened by bad posture, it can be solved with an outpatients procedure. The specialist carries out a superficial liposuction, eliminating the excess fat. Micro-incisions to insert the cannula are made in unseen areas: behind the ears and in the natural fold under the chin.
After the age of 45, this problem can be made worse by the relaxation of the skin. In this case, besides removing the fatty tissue, the surgeon makes a small incision, again in the natural fold under the chin, using an endoscope to reach the neck muscles implicated, in order to reposition them so that they will not sag again. Lastly, he adapts the tissue to the new volume, exploiting its natural elasticity.
Nips and tucks depending on age
A relatively small number of men actually have a full facelift, possibly because the operation requires longer convalescence and leaves scars (small ones) near the ears, which they find hard to hide. This method returns all the muscle fascias that make up the mimic muscles, technically known as the SMAS (or Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System), to their initial position. In other words, the specialist sections the muscle, shortens it or eliminates part of it, following the traction vectors. All of this takes place without alterating the natural facial expression. While facelifts are carried out on older men, otplasty is almost carried out during puberty. This corrects malformations of the ear – prominent ears or the rarer macrotia (oversized ears and cryptotic or “hidden” ear, which occurs when the upper rim of the pinna is hidden under a secondary fold in the scalp, with an abnormal upward fold of the cartilage towards the head – either on one or both sides of the head, which can be at different levels and can cause a person to suffer complexes or profound discomfort.
