Dr. Leonard featured in Providence Business JournalNovember 19, 2007
Buying a touch of youth, beauty By David Ortiz PBN Staff Writer
If your aging colleague suddenly looks more rested than he has in years, he may have gotten more than a good night’s sleep.
As they age towards retirement, an increasing number of baby boomers are turning to cosmetic surgery to smooth wrinkles, brighten teeth and replace hair on their heads, medical professionals say. Plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists and hair transplant surgeons in Rhode Island report their businesses are booming, driven in part by older customers lining up for Botox injections, porcelain tooth veneers, hair transplants and various nips and tucks.
“They’ve spent a lot of time and effort to build their careers and their families, and now they want to do something for themselves,” said Robert Leonard, owner of Leonard Hair Transplant Associates, which has an office in Cranston and also operates in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. “They often have the financial wherewithal to consider cosmetic surgery, and they’re doing it.”
As an example, Leonard said the average age of first-time customers to his business is 50, an age considerably higher than the typical hair transplant client a generation ago.
The development mirrors a national trend; across the country, baby boomers are undergoing skin and body lift procedures in increasing numbers, according to a March report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world.
People aged 40 and up experienced a 12-percent increase in cosmetic surgery from 2005 to 2006, according to the report. For men and women aged 40 to 54, thigh lifts increased 27 percent, lower body lifts increased 24 percent, upper arm lifts increased 23 percent, face lifts increased 22 percent, breast lifts increased 11 percent, and tummy tucks increased 7 percent.
In all, nearly 5 million cosmetic procedures were performed on women and men ages 40 to 54 in 2006, accounting for 45 percent of all patients. Patients ages 55 and older in 2006 made up 26 percent of all patients, with 2.8 million total cosmetic procedures.
The trend is a reflection of the fact that the baby boom generation – born between 1946 and 1964 – will live longer and be healthier than any prior generation. Boomers feel younger as they approach retirement than their parents did, and they want their looks to match their vision of themselves, said Gus Noguiera, owner and chief practitioner of Aquidneck Dental Associates in Portsmouth, which specializes in cosmetic dentistry.
“A generation ago, it was common for people in their 40s and 50s to have missing teeth,” Noguiera said. “This is a population that’s used to having good care for years and years, and as they become aged – and I’m 49 myself – we expect to keep our teeth.”
And though women still account for the majority of cosmetic enhancement customers in any age group, a relatively small but growing number of men are getting Botox treatments, liposuctions, porcelain teeth veneers and other such procedures, doctors say.
In many cases, older men and women are opting for such procedures in the hopes of remaining competitive in the workplace, said Patrick K. Sullivan, a plastic surgeon in Providence.
“A significant number of my patients are business men and women who want to play at the top of their game,” Sullivan said. “They want to be the most effective that they can be, and they don’t want to have people telling them that they look tired when they’re not, or upset or angry or those kinds of things. We all develop frown lines, and people develop circles under their eyes or puffiness and look sad, and they may have had the best night of sleep ever and they go to work and people say, ‘You look tired!’ ”
Sullivan and many other plastic surgeons warn that their industry is attracting unscrupulous and often unaccredited surgeons looking to cash in on the increasingly lucrative business. The problem is compounded by the fact that cosmetic enhancement is largely a cash business because insurance doesn’t cover the cost of most procedures.
In a recent example, in late September the R.I. Department of Health suspended the medical license of Dr. Curtis J. Perry, shutting down his cosmetic surgery practice in East Greenwich because the facility was not licensed for surgery and administered dangerous amounts of anesthesia during breast enlargements and other procedures.
Although Perry’s Artistic Surgical Center had advertised widely, health officials did not know the extent of the surgeries being performed there until a patient complained. State health officials have since received several more complaints about Perry’s business.
People considering cosmetic procedures should ask for a referral to an appropriate doctor from their primary care physician, check to make sure that the doctor’s credentials are approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties, and ask many questions before undergoing any procedure, medical professionals say.
“People have to be very aware of getting qualified plastic surgeons,” Sullivan said. “You have to be extremely cautious.” << Back to News |
