Cosmetic surgery growing in popularity among men

Plastic surgeon Leo McCafferty believes selfies have something to do with it.

There are all of these pictures and you say to yourself, I look older than I feel, Dr. McCafferty said during a recent interview in his Shadyside office. People are working longer and people want to look as young as they feel.

Whatever the reason, the number of middle-aged and older men signing up for cosmetic surgery has increased nearly three-fold in the past 15 years as guys seek a more youthful appearance, or at least a delay before the tell-tale sags of aging settle in permanently.

Financial adviser Jim Wehrheim of Marshall, now just shy of his 65th birthday and with no plans of retiring, sought out Dr. McCafferty six years ago about a double chin that threatened to overtake his jawline. I did it for myself, he explained. I just didnt like the way I looked.

Its a familiar theme among his male patients, Dr. McCafferty said. I think certainly theres an element of vanity, but a certain amount of vanity is good. We need to kind of take care of ourselves.

Another patient of Dr. McCaffertys, Bruce, a 55-year-old executive from Chicago who underwent a facelift earlier this month, freely admits the procedure was all about me.

We men are aging but we are staying in shape and exercising and working out. So, from the neck down, we could be in our 30s or 40s. So you just want the face to match, said Bruce, who asked that his last name not be published.

Even at 55, I feel like Im in my 20s until I pass by a mirror.

Cosmetic surgery for men is not for the faint of heart or because insurance probably wont cover the procedure the thin of wallet. Physician fees for the most common procedures range from about $2,700 to more than $5,000, and the cost can easily double when facility fees, anesthesia and other surgical costs are added in.

Part of a 14-part series examining the demographic forces changing the work place.

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Cosmetic surgery growing in popularity among men