My selfie says it's time to get some work done.

For those of you who caught the Grammy Awards, one of the water cooler conversations that came up was how fabulous Stevie Wonder looked. No, he wasn’t the protégé of a new fitness guru. Yet, he is likely that too. It was obvious, he had some work done. Stevie's youthful look is reflecting the trend that has taken plastic surgery by storm — men. Men are going under the knife at an amazing rate. Chicago plastic surgeons are seeing this growth in visits to their offices — up almost 30%. Unlike their female counterparts, men have stayed away from this elective surgery and have been content with just looking “ok”. Why the big change? This HalfStack writer wanted to know.  So, I got the skinny from Chicago Plastic Surgeon Dr. Gregory Wiener.

Dr. Gregory Wiener has been a board certified plastic surgeon since 1999. His practice is found on the city's Northwest side and he has seen steady growth in people wanting to look fabulous. Catering to both men and women, Dr. Wiener has seen an influx of men getting work done. Originally, a small town-Kansas man, Dr. Wiener is very highly educated. He spent his undergraduate work at Lehigh University, along with another five years in residency at Rush in general surgery before specializing in plastics and reconstructive surgery. He spent three years at The University of Illinois and attended University of Kansas (KU) for his medical training in reconstructive surgery. He also has hospital privileges at Resurrection. Yet, 80 to 90% of his surgical work is done at his office. As I mentioned, business is good. He has his own 5500 sq. foot facility along with two operating suites that he has expanded into over the last year. The new offices feature state of the art equipment and this is where he and his patients prefer to do most of their work. 

Why the increase in the number of men getting work done? Dr. Wiener attributes his patients reasonig to one word: Selfie. “Men have smartphones and thus, started taking pictures of themselves. Many realized they didn’t like the way they looked. They are no longer looking the same as they did when they were in college. Work stress has added some stress lines or they just look tired. Men also took it hard in the latest recession. Older men needed to look fresh and attractive on job interviews. Looking good tends to instill confidence and that confidence gets noticed. It makes an enormous difference.”

Recovery free work

Plastic surgery for men falls into two camps: invasive and non-invasive. Currently the most popular work is non-invasive, as there is little to no recovery time. Work can be done on one’s lunch hour and then the patient can go back to work. Options include: botox and fold fillers like Juvéderm. Quick and pretty painless (ok — it does involve a needle), botox is used to reduce the stress lines around the eyes, forehead and between the brow. It can take away the angry lines or the “11” that hits most men as they age.  Application is done with a very small needle and takes less than 20 minutes. Juvéderm is a filler that is injected under the skin to fill out the fold lines in cracks and crevices that one gets as fat deposits reshift with age.

Lines around along the side of the nose, marionette folds or lines under the mouth that makes one look like Howdy Doody can be removed quickly. The filler is applied through a needle. As the needle is larger, there is usually a topical anesthesia applied to numb the skin area temporarily. This helps to ease the discomfort. With both the fillers and botox, the results are temporary but effective. Juvéderm results last about 6 months. Other fillers like Radiesse can last almost a year.

Results for botox last about 4 to 6 months. This trend is not going unnoticed by other healthcare professionals as well. There are some dentists and optometrists that are now offering botox! Why? Well the renewal schedule aligns nicely with getting one’s teeth cleaned. The results are subtle, but worth the time and investment particularly if one knows they are going to be stressed or will need to be in front of a camera.

The nip and tuck

Invasive is more of what people tend to think of when one hears the words plastic surgery. This is that surgical nip and tuck. For men, it usually means a few selective items.“After the non-invasive category, invasive work starts with Lipo. Men usually want a bit of body contouring. This has been a stable and growing part of our practice. Men want their love handles removed or the fat sucked out of the neck beneath their chin. This adds age to men instantly, but is usually the hardest to remove as one ages.” 

As a matter of fact, as men age, their ability to reduce weight is harder as they do not have the same level of testosterone as they did when they were in their 30s. Weight becomes more difficult to loose and the body has a tendency to make fat deposits in areas that we wish it wouldn’t.

“We are typically seeing at least 10 to 12 full body-contouring sessions a year. Ten years ago, it was just not done. We see quite a few Rhinoplasty treatments being done as well. I would say, that is the second most popular item currently, following getting one’s chin lipo suctioned. Behind that would be an eye lift surgery. Men’s brows get heavier as they age. This procedure lightens up their eyes so they look fresher and more alert.”

The nose knows

Getting one’s nose done is becoming more common. For men it means getting rid of the hump from the football injury (or beer fight) or lifting the tip up as we age. The nose elongation in the tip tends to make one look sad or lacking confidence. Lifting it ever so slightly can make a world of difference. Rarely do men have the nose shaved down. If they do, it is usually very minimal. As they have thicker skin, just lifting the top can make a nose seem visually narrower without having to do more aggressive procedures.

Pony up — or What is it costing?

Not as expensive as one might think, Botox can be done for as little as $250. A typical forehead touch up, with elimination of the “11” between the brow and reduction of crows feet usually runs about $600-700. Elimination of the marionette lines can generally be done with one tube of Juvéderm at a cost of $650. This is not excessive when one thinks of how they will look on the backside of things. The increase in confidence from knowing how one looks can help them land a job, look better at important events like a daughter’s wedding, on a date or simply for the day to day. If you are interested in checking out how plastic surgery can help enhance you, give Dr. Wiener a buzz. His office can be found at 5440 North Cumberland at the Cumberland Center in Suite 105. His phone number is 773-763-3990

Written by Thom Olson for HalfStack