Male Plastic Surgery: The Current State-of-the-Art

Abstract

Back in 2004, when I finished my Plastic Surgery Residency at the NYU and started my practice, I really had felt that I was fortunate enough to have had excellent training in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. With the esteemed professors at NYU, and particularly Manhattan Eye and Ear Attendings that taught us so many of the greatest techniques in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, I thought I was quite prepared to operate—on women. Yes, something was lacking. Although the halls of the OR were lined with some of the world’s greatest icons in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, by far, the majority of the procedures were performed on women. And in the MEETH Resident clinics, by far, the majority of patients seen were women. Why was this? This was because, in general, techniques specific to men were not taught in our residencies, and we as surgeons lacked the training, skills, and practice to gain confidence to provide consistent results we were proud of for our staff, our patients, our residents, and ourselves. In fact, we as a medical community went as far as to vilify many male patients as “S.I.M.O.N.s”, and that our residents and staff should be aware and avoid these. Since then, it has been my observations that men make excellent patients just like women. After I started my own private practice, I immediately had many male friends who had been waiting to have aesthetic plastic surgery procedures, but I noticed that there was not a lot of information out there. During that period of time, with the legendary Sherrell J. Aston, and the meteorically rising Dr Jennifer Walden, we set out to construct an 864-page textbook about Plastic Surgery: Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which was primarily aimed at women. But when it was time to put together a second edition, I was approached about another textbook, specifically for Male Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Also, during this time, we were noticing a rise in the numbers of men in my practice. With this in mind, we set out to establish The New York Institute of Male Plastic Surgery to develop techniques, to educate residents and practicing Plastic Surgeons, and to study safely tested devices to allow interested Plastic Surgeons to be able to learn these techniques, grow their practices, and provide more services geared to men. So, why the need for this supplement on men? Over the past 2 decades, the authors in this issue have continued to work on improving and developing these techniques to be able to provide the best results in their thriving practices. All at the same time, dramatic improvements in lipocell transfer and technologies, such as alloplastic augmentation, have taken place. We feel like this is just the beginning of a great journey, and we hope that this supplement will inspire many readers to continue to grow in attracting men to be able to provide excellent treatment and results for them. We feel that this is indeed the golden era of the growth of Men’s Plastic Surgery and hope that many surgeons will continue. I wish you the same great interest in this area that I have felt and great success in developing your armamentarium to include more male-based procedures for your patients and your practice. After all, 51% of the world population is men.