Irish men under the knife
JOE: Cosmetic surgery has perhaps been traditionally viewed as something geared towards women. Do you think this perception is preventing some men from coming through the door of clinics such as your own?
Dr Treacy: People confuse cosmetic surgery with facelifts, and the latter will probably always be a female domain. Even still, the men who do come through our doors don't have that perception. I'm not sure if it does to be honest but there are differences in the type of treatments men and women go for. Women get certain things like facelifts, men don't. Men get hair transplants, women don't.
From what I've seen more men get eyes done that women do, in terms of liposuction it's about 50/50 but it's easier taking fat from a woman. Hair transplants are about 95 per cent men. I think it's more of a media thing really.
JOE: Is there a view that hair transplants are somehow separate from cosmetic surgery?
Dr Treacy: That's a very good question. We're driving that market towards it being seen as medical procedure. For a long time hair transplants have been outside of the medical end of things, and as a result have developed a very bad name. It was associated with wigs, false hair and things like that. For us, it's purely a medical procedure. It is a medical treatment that doesn't require a general anaesthetic, an over-night stay or any major surgery but it is still doctor-driven. It is no longer being associated with back-street operators and as a result of that, the perception is shifting.
JOE: Do you think male attitudes towards cosmetic surgery are changing?
Dr Treacy: The whole world is changing, the question is why. It has certainly changed a lot since the contraceptive pill was introduced 50 years ago. The pill has caused women's hormone to flatten out, which has been well documented by the University of Bath and the University of Leeds. In short, the type of man that women are looking for has changed totally.
You can see it in movies how the big butch, rough guy with lots of body hair is going out and women are looking for a more metro-sexual man. As a result, men are changing their appearance in order to bring themselves into line with what women are looking for. It's a behavioural reaction to something that has chemical origins.
We've been one way for the last five million years and now, in the space of a generation, we're all changing. You hear very little about it in the media. People get as far as, Oh, men are changing' but what you don't hear is people asking the question, Why are men changing?'
JOE: Do you think we will get to a stage where a man can comfortably sit in a pub and tell his friends about a lipo treatment or nose job he's had?
Dr Treacy: I think we're pretty much there with those particular procedures, but I don't think we'll ever reach the stage were a man can comfortably sit in a pub and talk about having a facelift. That would still be seen as a womanly thing to do. But certainly, with the likes of fat removal, I think we're there. I mean, on the one hand you could spend your time running around the block for two years, or you could go and get it sucked out in half an hour. It's the same thing as saying to yourself okay, the supermarket is four miles away. Should I walk to it or should I take the car? Why give yourself the grief?
Nose jobs are probably a little bit behind fat treatments in that I'm not sure every man who goes for that procedure would talk openly about it to everybody. With facelifts, I don't think we will ever get there to be honest.
JOE: What would be the five most popular procedures among your male patients?
Dr Treacy: First would be hair removal chest and back. Second, probably because we're experts in this, is hair transplantation. Third would be nose jobs. Fourth would be eyes. We've been doing them in a different way we can now remove the bags under the eyes using a laser and it's proved hugely popular. Fifth would be fat removal.
JOE: I thought that might feature...
Dr Treacy: Interestingly, a lot of men get turned down for fat removal procedures. About 50 per cent of those who come to us looking for fat removal are men, but only about 20 per cent of those we treat are male. A lot of men come in with beer bellies, but the type of fat that's beneath the rectus muscle is not suitable for taking off. Subcutaneous fat, which sits on the flanks, thighs and lower abdomen, is very suitable for taking out.
The procedure involves inserting a probe that melts the fat the system has revolutionised this type of treatment. It can be done under local anaesthetic so you can lay back and watch a movie or have a chat while it's being done.
Lipo used to be a brutal procedure it involved mechanically extracting the fat. Doctors pulled out fat and destroyed nerves and blood vessels in the process. It took six weeks to heal. With the new method you just put in the probe, it melts the fat and you're healed in two or three days. It's fantastic.
JOE: What sort of impact have you seen these treatments have in terms of the confidence of your patients?
Dr Treacy: These issues tend to run deeper in men than in women particularly so for men in their late 20s who are trying to find a partner. I've seen men get an incredible lift from the removal of fat, particularly in the breast area. Male pattern baldness can also have a deep psychological affect on young guys, especially if they start losing hair in their early 20s. Despite the fact that there is a general acceptance of baldness, with people shaving their head and so forth, we would often get letters back when we reverse a case of hair loss more so than with any other treatments. When men are fat and the fat is sucked off, you never hear another thing about it. But when men get their hair restored they will write you a letter. Women tend to be that bit stronger they will often just put up with things.
JOE: So is there a difference in the type of men who come in for the various treatments?
Dr Treacy: We get a lot of gay men in for Botox and derma-fillers. Guys who are high up in company positions and want to stay there, and good-looking, well-off straight men have the same procedures done as gay men and these are the same types of procedures which tend to get done by women.
The ordinary working-class lad doesn't tend to get those procedures done. The working-class lads tend to be people who would get fat removed, hair removed and hair replaced, but they don't tend to get anything like Botox done.
For more information on the Ailesbury Clinic, which operates in both Dublin and Cork, click here.
# # #
Ailesbury Clinics Ltd is the leading provider of advanced medical aesthetic skin care in Ireland. It was awarded Best Medical Practice in Ireland 2005.
Further details WEBSITE
http://www.ailesburyclinic.ie PHONE +3531 2692255/ 2133 Fax 2692250
Irish men under the knife
By: Dr. Patrick Treacy
The Best Way to Give Your Man a Blow Job Grouchy Old Men (and Women) How to make a man happy in bed-Dont just make him happy in bed blow his mind Tips to Show a Man You're The Best Catch A Man Ain't Fit to Live, If He Ain't Found Anything Worth Dying For! How to Make a Man Sexually Happy in Bed- The Downright Naughtiest Things to Do to Your Man Tonight How to Arouse Your Man and Make Him Want You Bad - Foreplay Tips That'll Drive Him Wild How to Please a Man With Oral Sex - Fellatio Techniques to Give Him Mind Numbing and Toe Curling Pleasure A Look Into The Treatise Of Men Of Actions! Russian Brides Are Considered The Most Beautiful By Many Men Lose Man Boobs- Best ways to treat gynecomastia without surgery! Best Man Wedding Toast - How To Prepare For It Best Man Wedding Toast - 2 Tips To Make It Memorable