Cosmetic surgery is getting to be a guy thing
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
By LAUREN OTIS

Meet Mike Viola of Hamilton, an easy-going 51-year-old with a sense of well-being.

An engineer for Princeton Plasma Physics, Viola has a healthy, ruddy complexion, talks about loving to go to the beach and seems completely at ease in his own skin. But that wasn't always the case.

Viola's body used to be covered with scores of red spots, raised nodules of blood vessels called cherry angiomas. Although he lived with them, the spots did make him self-conscious, particularly when he went to the beach with his companion of many years.

t all changed when Viola accompanied his companion, who was scheduled for a mole-removal procedure, to the office of Dr. Ayman El-Attar.

El-Attar, specializing in cosmetic skin surgery, operates Derma Laser Centers in Mercerville and Union City. The doctor took one look "and he said, `I can get rid of those things,' " recounts Viola.

Seeing how successful his companion's mole removal had been - "It was quick. (She had) no pain, no scar and it was reasonable (in price)" - Viola relented.

"I said, `OK' and (the removal of the angiomas) took like 20 minutes. It was amazing. In 20 minutes, he must have knocked off 80 of those things," says Viola.

"If more people knew in layman's terms what can be done, they'd do it - man or woman," he adds.

In fact, increasing numbers of men are undergoing cosmetic surgery in New Jersey and across the country as a new generation of less-invasive, high-tech procedures has become common and increasingly affordable.

With pressure to continue to look young at work, members of the baby boom generation are seeking to stave off the effects of aging. "Makeover" television shows also seem to be contributing to a societal shift toward acceptance of cosmetic procedures for men.

According to the New York-based American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, men had nearly 1.2 million cosmetic procedures in 2004, an increase of 8 percent over 2003.

Since 1997, cosmetic surgical procedures among men have increased 19 percent while nonsurgical procedures have increased a whopping 925 percent, says ASAPS spokeswoman Adeena Colbert.

The top procedures for men are all nonsurgical, according to ASAPS. Most popular are Botox injections, followed by laser hair removal, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and laser skin resurfacing.

While men still account for only 10 percent of the cosmetic plastic surgery market, demand for procedures by men is certain to rise, according to Colbert. Men are growing less embarrassed by the prospect of undergoing cosmetic surgery, she says, citing a 2005 ASAPS survey which found 59 percent of men approved of plastic surgery in general and 79 percent said they wouldn't be embarrassed to have it themselves.

El-Attar, 41, founded Derma Laser Centers in 2002 and says nearly 25 percent of his patients are men.

New affordable noninvasive procedures, which require almost no healing period, coupled with the general aging of the overall American population have driven demand for his services, he says.

"Men tend to do this because there is much more of an emphasis on looks, especially in corporate America," El-Attar says.

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Dr. Sharon Gertzman, owner of Serenity Center for Well Being, a medical spa in Pennington, is seeing a similar increase in male clients.

"I've definitely seen an increase in the number of men who come in for a variety of procedures," such as laser hair removal, facials and Botox injections, says Gertzman, who estimates her business from male clientele has grown from 5 percent to 10 percent in the past year.

Gertzman says her clientele includes men who don't want to be mistaken for their child's grandfather and look to cosmetic procedures to accomplish this. She also notes that a youthful appearance is prized in the business world.

"In corporate America, if you appear old, your ability to advance is limited," she says.

"There is a whole lot more social acceptability of men and women to perform cosmetic procedures to enhance their self-image and prolong their looks," says El-Attar, who gives himself Botox injections every four months. He also has undergone laser hair removal and laser vein treatments. E-Attar says he makes a point of testing out every new procedure he offers on himself first.

A majority of his male clients tend to be single or divorced, El-Attar notes. "Divorced men definitely is a big sector," he says, noting people will often have cosmetic procedures after some significant change in their life.

Although men are sure to continue to undergo cosmetic surgery in increasing numbers, El-Attar says, "In the long term, women will still constitute the majority of people seeking these services."

Does it trouble him that he is doing his share toward making America a more superficial, youth-obsessed society?

"No," says. El-Attar. "It's like washing my car. . . . When I don't wash it for a month it looks very unappealing. I think it is good for people to repair and maintain their looks. I think self-image is important."