Arnold Angeles, MD Plastic Surgery: February 2014

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At this rate, he’s gonna look prettier than I do!

Written by Samito Jalbuena / the.beast@zoho.com

IT was the eleventh hour till the big day and the wedding was planned. But the groom went under the radar for a week-and-a-half, upsetting the bride-to-be. He only texted back and answered her calls, but he didn’t show himself when requested. On the eve of the wedding, he finally revealed the reason for the absence.

He had a nip and tuck. His eyelids were now more defined. Botox was done on his forehead. The bride was envious but was also approving. “At this rate, he’s gonna look prettier than I do,” she said.

“I’ll probably be the one to get on my knees this time around and propose that he marry me,” she chuckled. “I also feel cheated. I always thought that wives were supposed to be the first to get plastic surgery, not the other way around.”

The age of manhood has come full circle, or so it seems. Men have been getting out of their shell and into the plastic surgeon’s clinic, and it’s been happening in droves. Then comes the caveat: Should women be happy that their men are becoming more desirable, or should they be on guard?

“Men right now are taking the first step in putting their best look forward, often eschewing the barber shop for more exotic ‘cuts’. Nowadays they simply want to look great, not out of a sense of vanity but because the standards of image have simply gotten higher,” says Dr. Arnold Angeles, a Manila-based plastic surgeon who has noted the steady rise of male patients in the past years (www.arnoldangeles.com). “Men now make up more than 40 percent of my clientele from just below 6 percent a couple of years ago.”

What is wrong here?

The grandfathers of older generations might be dismayed that Sonny has lost the macho quotient to all this silicone. Where a chest of hair was once considered a man’s glory peeking out of a bomber jacket, nowadays you have a burgeoning chest, clearly hairless yet muscled and plump, courtesy of pectoral implants. These silicone appointments are better than slaving in the gym for years, say the advocates. Implants give you the desired effect with minimal downtime. Duration of procedure: Roughly two hours. Healing: Give it a week.

Ray A. Gapuz is one of these advocates who believe that a definition of masculinity changes with the times. An author of internationally recognized books on passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, Gapuz is also a licensed nurse, educator and founder of the RA Gapuz Review Center, a government-recognized test

Ray Gapuz: Now and then

preparations provider for aspiring nurses and other would-be professionals. Gapuz is not afraid to admit that he has undergone at least 10 procedures with Angeles, including eyelid surgery, liposuction, and cheek and pectoral implants. Why?

“Because it’s also good for the business,” one can guess about the entrepreneur who is also the brand ambassador of his review center. Indeed, the “new” Gapuz looks like a spring chicken compared to his previous incarnation. He has shed more than 50 pounds and looks 30 years younger via the wonders of Angeles’s scalpel and lipo-ready canula. For Gapuz, it was time to get some major renovations.

So what are the telltale signs that your man needs a nip and tuck?

“First, there are the signs of aging and obesity,” Angeles says. “The months directly after the holiday season are when a lot of revelers regret the weeks of binge-eating and binge-drinking. Also signs to watch out for: Look for sagging skin in all the wrong places. This translates to malicious eye bags, drooping ‘turkey’ necks and loss of volume on cheekbones. If someone tells you, ‘Man, you look so gaunt,’ then it’s time for a visit.”

Got drooping man-boobs? Don't be shy. The doctor will help you today.

Second, Angeles notes that due to the rise of social media such as Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, more men are becoming aware of the importance of looking good for an audience. Plastic surgery often translates to a better image of themselves. “It means that their pictures become more, marketable, more viewable and more likely to get Likes or be shared,” the social-media savvy Angeles says. “The need for image marketing is a telltale sign that a man needs a nip and tuck.”

Performing "botox" on a male patient

These changes in attitude can be credited to the steady rise of incomes, the opening up of formerly gender-specific patterns of behavior, and the democratization of the clinical practice. The latter has lowered the prices of procedures while providing more specialized doctors, fueling the acceptability of plastic surgery for men. “In many ways, we are also closely following the trend that has occurred elsewhere in Asia,” says Angeles, who is one of Manila’s most respected young plastic surgeons. “As countries such as China and South Korea opened their economies, they also opened their markets to new ideas.”

Angeles knows what he’s speaking about. He was recently in a major Asian economy to conduct a symposium on how to apply facial fillers and botulinum toxin (commonly known in the genericized term “botox”).

“In their financial capital, I showed the foreign doctors how I assess patients who will need botox and fillers, then I performed both procedures on a patient. On the other hand, local plastic surgeons also showed how they do them, more of a technical thing, but the end point was the same: How to improve the patient’s looks despite his age and how to address his other plastic surgery needs.”

Angeles may not know it, but he may have become perhaps our first young goodwill ambassador of plastic surgery to another country.