Ray Ostrander remembers his reaction to seeing photos of himself at his daughter's wedding.
Ray Ostrander didn't like what
he saw in this photo, which
was taken at his daughter's wedding.
He
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Ostrander, like
other men who appear
more youthful after
cosmetic surgery,
has not revealed the
s
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Top five male surgical cosmetic procedures in 2007 (PDF graphic)
"I saw the pictures and thought 'aha,' " he said.
His revelation? Ostrander decided it was time for some cosmetic surgery — something more men are seeking these days.
According to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed on men in 2007 was just over 1 million, an increase of 17 percent from the previous year.
Surgical procedures increased 5 percent; nonsurgical procedures increased 21 percent.
Another organization, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, noted that of nearly 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures performed last year, 9 percent were done on men.
All those numbers do not mean men are talking openly about cosmetic surgery, however.
"Men are more sensitive than women" on the topic said one man who initially agreed to be interviewed for this story and then changed his mind.
Indeed, "I have not gone out and broadcast that I had this done," said Ostrander, 62, of Lancaster, a retired director of operations from Yellow Freight. In February, he had work on his face, neck and ears performed by Dr. Wendell Funk, Lancaster.
Today, Ostrander said, people don't ask him if he had cosmetic work, they tell him: "Boy, do you look good!"
Men, like their female counterparts, have every kind of option available, from Botox to liposuction to full-blown facelifts. Still, "they worry about what their friends are going to think," said Dr. William Carter, a Lancaster family practitioner, who has nicknamed himself "Dr. Botox" after the treatments he performs on patients.
"They don't want to be found out." Some of his clients, Carter admitted, "come in the back stairs."
Men might be more comfortable considering cosmetic procedures these days, Funk said, but they're also "very, very private about it."
Men and women view their bodies — and their imperfections — differently, Carter said. He spoke of two clients, one female, one male, who were both seeking treatment for spider veins in their legs. The woman was concerned about the all-around appearance of her legs; the man noted the spider veins in the front of his legs but didn't worry too much about the ones behind his knees.
" 'I can't see them,' " was the man's remark, Carter said.
Still, that doesn't mean guys don't have concerns about what they look like. Men in high-visibility professions, such as sales, where they are meeting lots of clients, want to have that edge to stay good-looking, Carter said. Not always necessarily younger, but "good for their age," Carter clarified.
Some inquiries about Carter's Botox treatments focus on correcting medical conditions, such as acne scars, rosacea (a skin disease that causes redness in the face) or, in the case of businessmen, Botox injections to stop excessive hand sweating.
Changes in attitude among guys, locally, is happening, but "very slowly," Carter said. When he attends conferences in large cities, he said he hears that males make up 15 percent of the cosmetic-procedures market. "It's about five percent here," he said of Lancaster. Cities such as "Los Angeles, New York, Miami, even Chicago ... have been on to this for a long time."
Carter said most of the men he treats or refers to cosmetic surgeons are of baby boomer age and up. "I only see younger guys for laser hair removal," such as on the back, or for Botox migraine prevention.
Funk said, when he does see younger men for surgery, it's for rhinoplasty, or what's commonly known as a "nose job." For some of them, the idea is to reshape a broken nose, so the procedure is "often a combination of cosmetic and reconstruction" surgery, Funk said.
For men in their 50s, eyelid lifts are popular, Funk said. Facelifts — involving work on cheeks, jowls, neck and eyelids — are the realm of men in their 50s and 60s, Funk said. "Men are competing with the younger guys. They want to look less tired, [to] clean up their face."
A procedure such as the one Ostrander had done can cost up to $15,000 to $16,000, Funk said. That includes fees for the surgeon, hospital, operating room and anesthesia, and the cost of an overnight stay. Cosmetic procedures are usually considered elective surgery and generally are not covered by medical insurance.
And there's one caveat for the male facelift category: "You don't want to overdo it," Funk said. It's a little more socially acceptable, to a degree, for women to have a tighter, smoother-looking face then men, he added. Carter isn't shy to say he's benefited from cosmetic treatments himself.
"I'm a walking billboard," he said, saying he started Botox treatments eight years ago purely for migraine prevention. "But," he said, "I haven't minded the wrinkle reduction," which has lead to the elimination of crow's feet, eyebrow and forehead wrinkles.
He's also had two laser treatments to tighten and smooth his skin, Carter said, as well as procedures to get rid of sun damage.
Ostrander has only one regret about his surgery — that he didn't have it sooner. He first underwent a procedure called "thread lift," in which threads inserted under the skin "are supposed to lift everything up," Ostrander said. But he wasn't pleased with the results, nor was he happy with subsequent collagen treatments. "That's when I decided to see Dr. Funk," Ostrander said.
His surgery was carried out by Funk at Ephrata Community Hospital.
"The
thought of having a procedure done is the worst part," said Ostrander, who noted he endured minimum discomfort.
He wore what he called "collection bags" for about a week; they are designed, with the help of drainage tubes, to deal with any fluid buildup or internal bleeding. In Ostrander's case, that was in his face.
There was some short-term swelling, and Ostrander said he was told to expect some numbness for six months after surgery. Today, he still experiences that, in his cheeks.
"You can't feel the razor on your face," he said. "A mosquito could drill for oil and you wouldn't feel it." But sensation will return, Funk noted.
Still, Ostrander's ex-wife and his younger son, Chris, 19, who'll be a sophomore at Millersville University, think his surgery "made a nice difference," Ostrander said, though he hasn't yet told his two other children, Michael, 30, and Kristen, 34, both of whom live in Washington, D.C.
"My
brother doesn't know I've had this done," he added.
But Ostrander sees his cosmetic procedures as a good investment.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," he said.
"You take care of your car. You take care of your home. Why not do it for yourself?"
What guys are 'fixing'Of the nearly 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures performed in 2007, nine percent were done on men. The top five procedures were:
•Nose reshaping: 74,090
•Eyelid surgery: 34,896
•Liposuction: 32,800
•Male breast reduction: 21,311
•Hair transplant: 13,393
Information comes courtesy of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which, on its Web site,
www.plasticsurgery.org, also notes that 296,012 men used Botox, as opposed to 4,329,180 women, in 2007.
Out of 11,795,065 cosmetic procedures performed last year, 1,116,591 were performed on men.
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799.
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