A new TV show and a new doctor in town have one thing in common: plastic surgery.
The new FX series Nip/Tuck puts the spotlight on an industry that has a reputation of working on many people in the spotlight.
Achih Chen knows that from experience. He recently moved to Augusta to become director of facial plastic surgery for the Department of Otolaryngology at the Medical College of Georgia. Before that, he worked as a fellow at the famous Beverly Hills, Calif.,Lasky Clinic. The facility caters to a posh clientele of movie stars and royalty, and people fly in from all over the world to have surgery done at the clinic.
Beverly Hixon was one such customer. Ms. Hixon was Dr. Chen's real estate agent while he was looking for a home in Augusta. Then she became his patient when she had an endoscopic brow lift, upper eyelid surgery and middle and lower face lifts at the Lasky Clinic.
"I felt like a VIP, there was wonderful service, it was very elite and posh," she said.
At the end of the third day, her bandages were removed. After 10 days, most of the swelling had gone down, and at the end of the sixth week, Ms. Hixon was 98 percent recovered.
She said plastic surgery is convenient because there is very little downtime to get a fresher, more youthful face.
Ms. Hixon said she felt very comfortable with Dr. Chen, who she looks at as more of an artist than a doctor.
"He's very sensitive to your needs and desires, not pushy, not trying to persuade you," she said.
A more negative image of the profession is portrayed on Nip/Tuck, said Richard Grego, chairman of public education for the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
"(It's) almost a comedy sitcom of the absurd things people could expect in the middle of a plastic surgery," he said.
In one scene, a liposuction tube comes loose from a patient, spurting globs of fat around the operating room.
Dr. Grego said the show is a "bizarre, cheesy drama" that is "neither realistic nor what board-certified plastic surgeons emulate."
Plastic surgery comprises more than just cosmetic surgery. Many plastic surgeons also do reconstructive procedures for burn victims and women who have had mastectomies, remove skin cancer and do hand surgery on people who have lost fingers, Dr. Grego said.
Dr. Chen's patients come to him for a variety of reasons. Many patients have facial traumas from car accidents or fights, or need reconstruction after skin cancer. Others want facial rejuvenation to look younger.
"Many know the value it (plastic surgery) has to make people feel better about themselves," Dr. Grego said.
In Beverly Hills, Dr. Chen also did surgery on younger patients, such as nose jobs on 17- or 18-year-old girls.
"These young girls are introverts because of a big hump on their nose; when you give them a nice, cute nose, it changes their whole personality, " he said.
Prices vary considerably. A face lift in Los Angeles runs $10,000 to $90,000. In Augusta, a similar procedure could cost $5,000 to $10,000, Dr. Chen said.
But to many in Hollywood and outside of it, plastic surgery is worth the cost.
"Anytime someone deals with the public, image is important," Ms. Hixon said.
