Plastic Surgery Confidential

Very interesting expose on plastic surgery from a Vanity Fair "undercover" reporter Melanie Berliet. Makes you think whether its something we seek out ourselves or its something society forces us to conform to..

Melanie Berliet writes, "Cosmetic surgery is now so popular that even young, healthy, attractive women are choosing to be “enhanced.” In a quest for insight into this $13 billion industry, the author—a five-foot-nine, 120-pound 27-year-old—went undercover, asking three plastic surgeons what they’d do to her nose, her breasts, and her, uh, “banana rolls.” The answers were as different as the doctors themselves.

With a swoop of his well-manicured fingers, Dr. David P. Rapaport lifts the lining of my black Calvin Klein underwear—and gives me a wedgie worthy of a grade-school bully. With nothing left to shield my naked flesh from his discerning eyes, I stand in the unforgiving light wondering what the hell I was thinking when I decided to come here.

My mission within this sterile examination room is simple enough: to catch an up-close-and-personal glimpse of a multi-billion-dollar industry. This is my first stop in a series of three consultations with plastic surgeons at various price points. I plan to give each one free rein over my face and body, to discover how far each will go in urging me to alter my objectively healthy, 27-year-old, five-foot-nine-inch, 120-pound figure. Alongside me is a Vanity Fair staffer appointed to pose as my boyfriend while secretly recording the sessions.

Dr. Rapaport, who charges $200 for a consultation, received his M.D. from Tel Aviv University in 1985, trained at the N.Y.U. Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and made New York magazine’s 2003 list of the city’s best cosmetic surgeons. His Fifth Avenue offices are lavish, with pristine walls and plush carpeting. My companions in the luxe waiting room include a stunning, Prada-clad Asian woman and multiple photo albums showcasing before and after shots for various nips and tucks.

Now the doctor and I stand in front of the floor-length mirror while he deconstructs the “before” me. “As a Caucasian woman, you probably—if you were doing lipo—would want this brought down,” he says, pointing to my “banana rolls”—his clever name for the part of my rear end that peeks from beneath my underwear lining. “And again, you know, in jeans, to most people … on white women, you guys like to get this down. And we like to see it down.” I gulp, realizing that I’ll never be able to eat my favorite fruit again without thinking of my own ass." read full article at VanitFair...

Very interesting expose on plastic surgery from a Vanity Fair "undercover" reporter Melanie Berliet. Makes you think whether its something we seek out ourselves or its something society forces us to conform to..

Melanie Berliet writes, "Cosmetic surgery is now so popular that even young, healthy, attractive women are choosing to be “enhanced.” In a quest for insight into this $13 billion industry, the author—a five-foot-nine, 120-pound 27-year-old—went undercover, asking three plastic surgeons what they’d do to her nose, her breasts, and her, uh, “banana rolls.” The answers were as different as the doctors themselves.

With a swoop of his well-manicured fingers, Dr. David P. Rapaport lifts the lining of my black Calvin Klein underwear—and gives me a wedgie worthy of a grade-school bully. With nothing left to shield my naked flesh from his discerning eyes, I stand in the unforgiving light wondering what the hell I was thinking when I decided to come here.

My mission within this sterile examination room is simple enough: to catch an up-close-and-personal glimpse of a multi-billion-dollar industry. This is my first stop in a series of three consultations with plastic surgeons at various price points. I plan to give each one free rein over my face and body, to discover how far each will go in urging me to alter my objectively healthy, 27-year-old, five-foot-nine-inch, 120-pound figure. Alongside me is a Vanity Fair staffer appointed to pose as my boyfriend while secretly recording the sessions.

Dr. Rapaport, who charges $200 for a consultation, received his M.D. from Tel Aviv University in 1985, trained at the N.Y.U. Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and made New York magazine’s 2003 list of the city’s best cosmetic surgeons. His Fifth Avenue offices are lavish, with pristine walls and plush carpeting. My companions in the luxe waiting room include a stunning, Prada-clad Asian woman and multiple photo albums showcasing before and after shots for various nips and tucks.

Now the doctor and I stand in front of the floor-length mirror while he deconstructs the “before” me. “As a Caucasian woman, you probably—if you were doing lipo—would want this brought down,” he says, pointing to my “banana rolls”—his clever name for the part of my rear end that peeks from beneath my underwear lining. “And again, you know, in jeans, to most people … on white women, you guys like to get this down. And we like to see it down.” I gulp, realizing that I’ll never be able to eat my favorite fruit again without thinking of my own ass." read full article at VanitFair...