TOP COSMETIC PROCEDURES FOR MEN IN 2007, WITH AVERAGE COSTS
SURGICALLiposuction: 57,980 ($2,963))Eyelid: 32,564 ($2,840)Rhinoplasty(nose surgery): 31,713 ($4,357)Breast reduction: 20,280 ($5,500)Hair transplantation: 16,491 ($5,874)NonsurgicalBotoxinjections: 329,519 ($380)Laser hair removal: 185,684 ($387)Microdermabrasion: 85,910 ($130)Hyaluronic acid injection (Hylaform, Juvederm, Restylane, Perlane): 84,184 ($576)IPL laser treatment: 63,177 ($411)As he hit his early 40s, Fernando Bastidas started to notice the signs of aging: the saggy skin, the tired eyes, the loss of the hard body of his youth.
The solution? Go under the knife. Bastidas, now 45, got a facelift, nose job, liposuction on his love handles and facial injections of Restylane, a filler that increases skin volume to smooth out folds and wrinkles.
''I'm a single guy, so I want to keep in the game and look as good as possible,'' said Bastidas, a mortgage banker from Miramar.
He's part of a growing group of men, mostly middle aged, turning to cosmetic surgery to battle aging and shore up their physical shortcomings. Yes, they're getting Botox injections, nose jobs, tummy tucks and lipo, which women have been doing for years. But they're adding arm lifts, calf and buttocks implants and pectoral augmentation -- the sculpted look.
Indeed, cosmetic procedures for men are growing at a faster clip than women's: They shot up 17 percent in 2007, versus 1 percent for women, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The biggest growth comes from a 21 percent gain in nonsurgical procedures -- Botox, laser skin treatments and facial fillers.
''Men are getting more comfortable with the idea of getting these procedures,'' said James A. Matas, an ASAPS national officer and Orlando-based surgeon. ''They are becoming more metrosexual and in tune with styles and looks,'' he said.
There's also what doctors call the ''me-too'' effect: A man sees a female friend, coworker or partner who had cosmetic surgery done and wants similar results.
For Bastidas, who paid $14,000 for his procedures, that moment came when he saw the changes in his secretary, who had gotten a tummy tuck. 'She looked amazing. I said `What the hell, I'll do it,' '' he said. Now, ``I feel great.''
His waist shrank four inches to a flat 30 and at five feet, seven inches tall and 155 pounds, he weighs 25 pounds less than he did pre-surgery. In addition, he's picked up an exercise routine since the operations.
''You get motivated. On the weekends I go to the gym to keep myself toned. I'm a little more careful with what I eat. No more fried foods,'' he said. He's begun to use facial creams each night, too.
While Bastidas spent a relatively hefty sum -- insurance generally doesn't cover cosmetic surgery -- most men are more frugal. They're less likely to be repeat patients and prefer minimally invasive procedures with the least recovery time. High on the list: Botox, facial fillers, laser and other treatments with abrasion/scraping tools. These often take less than 30 minutes and range from a few hundred dollars for Botox to more than $2,000 for laser skin resurfacing.
Chris Colgan, 45, a sports marketing executive from Fort Lauderdale, recently received injections of Perlane -- another facial filler -- to smooth out the area between his lips and nose. The process, which included a 15-minute wait as cream was applied to numb his face, was under a half-hour. He also has gotten Botox injections to smooth his forehead wrinkles and crow's feet.
''It's easy and quick,'' said Colgan, who did the procedure on a weekday after leaving the office. His first dose of cosmetic surgery was eight years ago when he had liposuction done to trim his love handles.
His Boca Raton dermatologist, Dr. David Goldberg, says that about 20 percent of his patients are men.
''With women, we try to eliminate all wrinkles. With men, we keep some wrinkles. The stigma is waning,'' he said. ``Now, men who come in realize it still looks natural, especially with noninvasive procedures.''
At the Miami Institute, a cosmetic surgery and wellness clinic at the Four Seasons Hotel on Brickell, about a quarter of the patients are men, said medical director Julio Gallo.
Ben Walker, a 48-year-old communications contractor from Kendall, recently had surgery there to correct what he called ''droopy'' lids. He also had a browlift. Eyelid surgery for men is gaining in popularity; the number of procedures jumped 18 percent nationally in 2007, according to the plastic surgeons' group.
''As you get older, everything on your face starts falling. My eyes often looked like I was squinting,'' Walker said.
But Walker didn't want that overdone look. 'I wanted it to be where someone looks at you and they say `something happened,' but they're not sure,'' he told the doctor.
That's a widely held view, Gallo said. ``Men want to make sure that whatever they do won't be noted.''
