Fabulous Faces: From Motivation to Transformation Through Plastic Surgery

FABULOUS FACES

by

Peter A. Adamson, M.D.,

F.R.C.S.C., F.A.C.S.

Smashwords Edition

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Published on Smashwords by:

Oslerwood Enterprises

Renaissance Plaza

150 Bloor St. West, Suite M110

Toronto, ON M5S 2X9

Fabulous Faces

Copyright 2011 by Peter A. Adamson

First Edition

ISBN 978-0-9865742-1-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the author in writing at the address below.

*BOTOX® Cosmetic is a registered trademark of Allergan, Inc. All rights reserved. www.botoxcosmetic.com

**JUVÉDERM® is a registered trademark of Allergan Industries SAS. All rights reserved. www.juvederm.com

†Restylane® is a registered trademark of HA North American Sales AB. All rights reserved. www.restylane.ca

To all those who have transformed their lives through facial plastic surgery, and to all those seeking the courage to begin their own journeys of self-fulfillment.

The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your personal physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Each individual’s situation is unique and should be addressed by a qualified medical professional to ensure that the situation has been evaluated carefully and appropriately. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability, loss, or risk that is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of taking any action after reading this material.

Some of the names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals mentioned.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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PRAISE FOR FABULOUS FACES

If your destination is facial enhancement, Fabulous Faces reads like a detailed travel guide filled with real stories from real people who took the journey. Lively, witty, and full of practical information, this book is a highly recommended read.

—Donn R. Chatham, M.D.

Past President, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Fabulous Faces contains an unparalleled depth of knowledge that single-handedly disproves the old saying about beauty being only skin deep.

—Gabrielle Glaser

Author of The Nose: A Profile of Sex, Beauty, and Survival

These patient stories help us all understand that facial plastic surgery affects, not just appearance, but the heart and soul as well. Dr. Adamson has succinctly and honestly provided information that will benefit anyone considering a plastic surgery procedure.

—Wayne F. Larrabee Jr.

President, American Board of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery

Editor, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, American Medical Association

With unflinchingly honest accounts from real people who’ve undergone facial plastic surgery, Fabulous Faces tells it like it really is. This important book explores the human desire to have our outer appearances reflect our inner selves, and gives readers everything they need to know to decide if cosmetic surgery is right for them.

—Shan R. Baker, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Professor and Director, Center for Facial Cosmetic Surgery, University of Michigan

Peter Adamson possesses an almost uncanny understanding of the face and how its changes can affect us. In this book, every dimension of facial aesthetic surgery is explored and presented in clear, accessible writing. Fabulous Faces is the ultimate reference book I will be sharing with my patients who are contemplating transformative facial surgery.

—Jim Paupst, M.D.

Toronto Physician and Senior Fellow at Massey College

If you’re considering facial plastic surgery, this might be the last book the old you ever reads. Dr. Adamson is not only an artist with his technology, but also a master of human nature. He makes the experience of transforming the external into a journey of inner growth.

—Dan Sullivan

Founder, Strategic Coach, Inc.

Fabulous Faces fills a void in patient education for those considering facial plastic surgery. By combining accurate medical information with real-life patient experiences, Dr. Adamson gives readers the knowledge to make informed decisions about potential surgical procedures.

—Ira D. Papel, M.D., F.A.C.S.

President, American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and

Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Fabulous Faces is a sensitive and intriguing description of what to expect before, during, and following cosmetic surgery. Anyone contemplating a procedure will be both reassured and encouraged.

—Marlene Leeper

Cosmetic surgery patient

Fabulous Faces isn’t just about skincare and lifting faces—it’s about self-care and lifting spirits. Read this book and look better, feel better, be better.

—Charles Pachter, CM, LLD

Artist, historian and author

From Motivation to Transformation through Plastic Surgery

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: YOUR CALLING CARD

Chapter 1: THE FACE IN THE MIRROR

Explore the key motivations for people seeking plastic surgery.

Chapter 2: THE COURAGE FACTOR

Examine the different fears and myths involved in having plastic surgery and how people find the courage to move forward.

Chapter 3: THE BEAUTY YARDSTICK

Learn that the old saying Beauty is in the eye of the beholder isn’t necessarily true.

Chapter 4: BODY IMAGE

Examine two pictures—the picture of how we see ourselves and the picture of how others see us—and try to determine which one is real.

Chapter 5: THE TURNING POINT

Explore the events that trigger the decision to move from thinking about cosmetic surgery to actually doing it.

Chapter 6: FINDING THE RIGHT DOCTOR

Navigate your way through the many specialties of cosmetic surgery to find the right doctor and determine what’s right for you.

Chapter 7: SKIN CARE

Consider the different methods used to maintain the skin, from moisturizers to Botox.

Chapter 8: FACE-LIFTS

Take a tour of the different aspects of face-lifts—answering common questions, the consultation, the medical history, preparing for the face-lift, surgery, and tips from patients.

Chapter 9: BONITA’S GRADUATION

Follow Bonita through her face-lift preparation, surgery, and recovery.

Chapter 10: MARGUERITE’S UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE

Read the diary of a woman who stepped off the cliff—and see how she landed.

Chapter 11: FABULOUS FACES

Examine first-person accounts from several patients who have had plastic surgery.

Chapter 12: THE NOSE

Learn that, though the eyes may be the first thing you notice, the nose is the face’s true sexy beast.

Chapter 13: LOLA’S RHINOPLASTY

Follow Lola through her rhinoplasty, from preparation to recovery.

Chapter 14: BRAD AND ARPI—THE NOSE DIARIES

Read the diaries of two fearless patients who decided to do something about their noses.

Chapter 15: DIARIES OF MAGNIFICENT NOSES

Follow first-person accounts from several patients who have had rhinoplasties.

Chapter 16: HEALING TOUCH

Look at some aspects of alternative medicine and how they can complement cosmetic surgery.

Chapter 17: THE TRANSFORMATION

Discover how our cosmetic surgery heroes feel now that it’s all behind them.

Chapter 18: THE OTHER FACES OF PLASTIC SURGERY

Learn about other faces of plastic surgery, restored after illness, abuse, and trauma.

Chapter 19: A FINAL WORD

GLOSSARY

APPENDIX

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, Fabulous Faces is about our patients, how they found their motivation, and how they transformed themselves through facial plastic surgery. I thank them for their trust, and for sharing their stories willingly so they might help others to make this important decision themselves. Our patients have also related how they developed the courage to carry through with their decision. Each patient has taught me something valuable about the human spirit and achieving one’s life goals.

My deepest appreciation goes to Michael Lavoie, who explored the world of plastic surgery in order to acquire an intimate knowledge of it. He skillfully interviewed our patients and captured the essence of their stories.

Ana Surghe, our aesthetician, contributed to our chapter on medical Skin Care and continues to have an exceptional ability to make everyone’s skin glow.

Susan Morales, R.N., contributed to our chapter on Healing Touch and continues to push the frontiers of wound healing. She has comforted many of our patients after surgery and helped make their transformations much easier.

My teachers from the past provided me the medical, surgical, professional, and ethical foundations to become a facial plastic surgeon. My colleagues today continue to act as my role models and mentors, and constantly spur me to be the best that I can be.

Hundreds of students and residents throughout my career have questioned traditional medical thinking and have spurred the creative thoughts that have helped me to advance our specialty. In particular, my clinical fellows have constantly stimulated my mind and assisted in the care of our patients. They are my living legacy.

At Adamson Associates Cosmetic Facial Surgery, Deborah Doyle encouraged this project from the beginning. Maria Giouzelis continues to use her unique ability to advise our patients and provide them security for a positive experience. Ilya Shkarupin has been a dedicated project manager. Maureen Dennis, R.N., and Joanne Banwell, R.N., have provided the kindest and most expert nursing care for our patients. Shirley Johnstone, R.N., our nurse manager at The Cumberland Clinic, has organized our surgical days and facilitated the collection of our patients’ stories. Barry Crane, R.N.A., has dedicated his life to surgical assisting, which has enabled the achievement of the best possible surgical results through his support of me as a surgeon. All of the other Cumberland Clinic staff, including our clinic assistants, recovery room nurses, and anesthesiologists, have worked together seamlessly to create an ideal environment in which to perform procedures for our patients.

The team at Highspot expressed commitment from the beginning that this book would be published. From the outset, their enthusiasm and expert guidance confirmed that this would be a successful project. Carissa Stewart managed our project with clarity and in a timely fashion.

The impetus to write this book came through my association with The Strategic Coach and its founder, Dan Sullivan. To The Coach, I extend my gratitude for helping me create a lifetime of positive energy and providing me the entrepreneurial skills to exceed beyond expectations.

Finally, and most importantly, my family: my children Geoffrey, Heather, and Elizabeth have always been most understanding and accepting of the time required away from them for me to have created a fulfilling professional life. And, of course, their support is a reflection of the administrative, psychological, and spiritual support of my exceptional wife and partner in life, Nora.

With deepest appreciation and gratitude to you all.

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INTRODUCTION: YOUR CALLING CARD

Your face is your calling card to the world. Its wondrously complex terrain is uniquely yours. There’s no other one just like it. Even when you’re silent, your face speaks volumes in the most sophisticated and elegant way. It announces to all, at any given moment, what you are about. It declares your feelings and elicits feelings in others. A smile begets a smile.

The human face has been a source of inspiration for many poets. You pucker your lips for a kiss, and the ghost of Lord Byron goes into rhapsodies: Her face so fair/Stirr’d with her dream as rose-leaves with the air. Anna Hempstead Branch sees a web of frail delight. Thomas Campion finds a garden in her face/Where rose and white lilies grow. French poet and scientist Paul Valéry believed, We have a spiritual longing to have an outer representation that matches our dreams, visions and moral aspirations.

The face consists of forty-four muscles, which are flat, free-floating, and unattached to bone. As a result, the face is the most mobile and expressive part of the body. California psychologist Paul Ekman and his associates have devised the Facial Action Coding System to catalogue more than 7,000 visually distinguishable facial movements. Ekman sees not roses, lilies, or delightful webs but "a simultaneous contraction of the incisivus labii superioris and the incisivus labii inferioris." Even this clinical description rings with its own kind of poetry—the dance of the muscles, the intricate choreography of the face. Love, joy, happiness, curiosity, surprise, confusion, fear, disgust, anger, rage—the face, even the stoniest poker face, announces your feelings.

Nothing captures our attention like a human face, says Harvard University psychologist Nancy Etcoff, and nothing rivals the face in communicative power. We talk about faces when expressing our individuality as human beings. Our hearts may be what make us go, but our faces bear the message of our journey.

The story of you is written on your face. But that story sometimes strays into fiction, communicating a false message to the world and keeping the true one under wraps. Faces can mask rather than reveal the person—and the personality—within. People (both men and women) around the world are, in ever-increasing numbers, looking to plastic surgeons to help them discover (or rediscover) their real selves. You may be one of those people.

If you’re reading this book—or even browsing it—you’re giving plastic surgery some thought. As a facial plastic surgeon, I’ve had the privilege of studying the beauty of the face and learning its most intricate secrets. My patients have been my teachers, many of them people just like you. This book isn’t about me—it’s about them and their journeys. Their experiences may help you decide whether you want to follow in their footsteps.

What Is Plastic Surgery?

There’s nothing plastic about plastic surgery. The word comes from the Greek plastikos, meaning to mold or to give form. The facial plastic surgeon is a sculptor of faces, a practitioner of medicine, and an artist all at the same time. My profession may seem to be relatively new, a late-twentieth-century phenomenon, but it isn’t. Plastic surgery is one of the oldest forms of medicine. The first recorded nose reconstructions were performed in India more than 2,500 years ago. Plastic surgery is an ancient art, and the pursuit of beauty is older still. Archaeologists have found traces of red dye that may have been used to adorn faces more than 100,000 years ago.

When people think of plastic surgery for the face—also known as cosmetic facial surgery—they often think of face-lifts and nose jobs (the medical term is rhinoplasty). There’s much more to it than that. In fact, cosmetic facial surgery is a group of procedures carried out singly or in combination, depending on patients’ individual needs.

The most common types of cosmetic facial surgery are described below.

Face-Lift (Rhytidectomy)

There was a time when the face-lift was simply that. You made incisions around the ears, released the skin of the lower face, lifted it snug, trimmed off the excess, and sewed everything back in place. Now it’s different. We don’t lift the skin; we lift the underlying tissue so that when the skin is re-draped, there’s no tension on it. You don’t have that frozen or pulled look.

A face-lift can take away deep wrinkles and folds and remove excess fat at the jawline and neck. It can add definition and contour to the cheeks and chin. It can visibly take years off the face’s appearance. However, a face-lift can’t completely remove every deep wrinkle or skin fold. It can’t add volume to facial tissues. It can’t correct skin pigmentation problems. And it can’t stop the aging process. It will turn back the hands of time, but the clock will keep ticking.

Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)

In this procedure, incisions are made in the eyelid creases, following the natural folds to hide the scars. Excess fat, muscle, and loose skin are removed or repositioned.

Eyelid surgery can take away that slightly sinister hooded look from the upper lids and the sagging, pouchy look from the lower lids. If the bags under your eyes look like opera house drapes, a blepharoplasty may be for you. It will diminish, but not entirely eliminate, dark circles. It won’t help your crow’s feet or correct sagging eyebrows (though other procedures can help).

Nose Job (Rhinoplasty)

Incisions are made under the tip and on the insides of the nostrils (where they aren’t visible). Underlying amounts of bone and cartilage are sculpted to make the nose’s new shape. The skin is then re-draped over the new frame.

Rhinoplasty can reduce a nose that’s too large, narrow a nose that’s too wide, straighten a crooked nose, eliminate bumps, reshape the tip, improve the angle between the nose and upper lip, and remove inner obstructions to improve breathing.

Caution

Many other procedures can smooth wrinkled foreheads, augment chins, correct protruding ears, and tighten sagging necks. Singly or together, these can lead the way to a rekindled life. However, plastic surgery won’t guarantee a promotion, bring back a lost love, or turn you into a movie idol.

Who Has Plastic Surgery?

Cosmetic facial surgery is no longer the exclusive preserve of socialites, models, and movie stars. More and more ordinary people are having a little work done.

* Doreen was in her forties when she faced the exciting—and daunting—prospect of launching a new career. She found herself in the company of smart, ambitious, younger women. I was forty-seven, and I was competing with twenty-seven, she says. Looking in the mirror, she noticed that her eye makeup was