Frank (not his real name) is talking from New York City (not his real home) about his chest (not his real muscles).
When Frank was a kid, he felt skinny and didn’t think his chest was big enough. Even after four years of swimming for his university and 20 years of weight lifting, it still wasn’t big enough. “I got compliments on my arms, legs, back, everything but the chest,” said the 5-foot-9, 180-pound investment broker. That changed about nine months ago, when the 49-year-old Los Angeles resident decided to get pectoral implants. It turns out the pair of palm-size solid silicone discs were enough.
“I feel more positive about myself than ever and I’m not self-conscious anymore about wearing an open shirt,” said Frank. “I’ve got nice cuts. I like the way I look.”
As American men confront a barrage of images of pumped-up male perfection–just look at any cover of Men’s Health magazine–a growing number are willing to pay anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 to put in their chests what genetics or exercise left out. Precise statistics on the number of pectoral implants performed in the U.S. are unavailable because the trend is still young, but many plastic surgeons expect it to keep rising in popularity.
“Give it five years, you’re going to see a lot more pec implants,” said Roberto Olivardia, a Harvard psychiatrist who co-wrote “The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession.” “Men are being targeted by the media and advertising with the kind of images that women have been bombarded with for years. And like women, it’s making men dissatisfied with their bodies.”
The procedure typically takes less than two hours and is usually performed in a doctor’s office under general anesthesia. Risks include excessive bleeding or fluid buildup around the implant, which occurs in 1 percent to 2 percent of cases, and infections, in 1 percent of cases, sometimes requiring the implants’ removal.
The procedure
Chest implant surgery typically takes about two hours and is performed under general anesthesia.
1. A small incision, about 2 inches long, is made in the armpit.
2. Pectoral implants are inserted beneath the pectoralis muscle.
SOURCE: SPECTRUM DESIGNS MEDICAL INC.
LOS ANGELES TIMES.
