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Web posted at: 11:45 AM EDT (1545 GMT)
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BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) -- A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon has hung out a shingle offering celebrity look-a-like makeovers, but the practice has raised eyebrows in a profession concerned with protecting its own image. "This goes well beyond a facelift or a nose job. Reforming bones and repositioning features is rarely successful in the best of hands," said Santa Monica plastic surgeon Michael McGuire, a former president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons.
But Dr. Nicholas Chugay, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who has sculpted about 20 people into famous likenesses, says looking like a celebrity need not depend on genetics. "I had one patient who wanted to look like Cher. Another guy wants to look like Julio Iglesias. There is more of a focus on celebrities now -- it is almost celebrity worship."
Chugay has also sculpted a Marilyn Monroe, a Michael Jackson look-alike who works in Las Vegas and an Elvis who is now on tour in Japan. "This is not something that legitimate plastic surgeons want to get involved with. It would take someone a little out of the mainstream to attempt it. We have a hard enough time making burn victims look like they used to," McGuire said.
He said he has heard of celebrity-image surgery from time to time over the past few years but the practice is widely condemned at meetings of plastic surgeons.
Osteopaths call themselves surgeons
Chugay, who was born in China of Russian descent, grew up in Brazil and was educated in the United States. He has been practicing in California since 1977, but he is not an M.D. and is not certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
He is licensed as an osteopathic physician and surgeon and is a member of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the Osteopathic Board of Facial Plastic Surgery. Osteopaths are trained in manipulating the skeleton and muscles.
"It's tough to tell with all the hype today. How does the public sort it out?" asked White Plains, New York, plastic surgeon Daniel Morello, who is president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the cosmetic surgeons association certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
"We just had a press release from someone about a 'diamond laser scalpel,' which is completely ridiculous," Morello said. "It turned out to be some kid just out of ENT (ear, nose and throat) residency. Too often that's the case."
"Anybody with an M.D. after his name can do surgery. It's scary," said Leida Snow, a spokeswoman for the society.
Doctors certified by the plastic surgeons' board have completed a minimum of five years of surgical training after medical school, including a plastic surgery residency program. Although not quite "L.A. Confidential," the film in which 1950s prostitutes go under the surgeon's knife to look like movie stars, some people believe plastic surgery can help them to earn a living.
Chugay said he has not operated on anyone seeking to sell sex with a celebrity, but he acknowledged the practice probably goes on. More common, he said, are people just looking for a model for their new look.
"People told me I looked like him and it seemed like a chance to get a couple of parts and make a few bucks," said former policeman Steve Radford, 55, who, rather incredibly, decided several years ago to look like Tom Arnold.
His big break fizzled when Roseanne, Arnold's ex-wife, put a halt to an unauthorized film biography in which Radford was slated to appear. Instead, the surgically enhanced look-alike said he has made appearances on talk shows such as Leeza and Geraldo. He has yet to meet Tom Arnold but hopes to one day.
"He has mentioned me twice," Radford said.
Chin implant, fat removal
Radford underwent about $20,000 of plastic surgery, including several liposuction procedures, a chin implant and facelift, to achieve his goal. "We took a lot of fat out of you," Chugay told the still heavyset Radford.
"Most people who have these desires probably need a psychiatrist, not a plastic surgeon," McGuire said. "It is just like someone who thinks their marriage is failing because their nose is crooked -- those people don't need plastic surgery."
Chugay said he often refuses patients. "In some cases people come in with pictures that are just not feasible. We have to do a mathematical analysis of their face shape and so on to see what will work."
Other doctors say the idea of trying to make someone look like a celebrity is a recipe for disappointed and frustrated patients. "The whole idea of plastic surgery is to improve and refine. It's quite different when it gets to facial features," Morello said.
Still, fashions in faces are quick to follow box office trends, Chugay noted, with Ricky Martin and Leonardo DeCaprio recently eclipsing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as frequent models for would-be noses or chins. "A lot of times I don't know who these celebrities are. I turn down more people than I do," he said. But Radford said, "I'm certainly glad that I had the surgery," while admitting that so far he has made only "some extra pocket money" from his investment.
The following article has been coverted from .txt files to .html files
By: Madeleine G. [email protected]
For: Info-Implants inc. [email protected]
Web posted at: 11:45 AM EDT (1545 GMT)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this story:
Osteopaths call themselves surgeons Chin implant, fat removal
RELATED STORIES, SITES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) -- A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon has hung out a shingle offering celebrity look-a-like makeovers, but the practice has raised eyebrows in a profession concerned with protecting its own image. "This goes well beyond a facelift or a nose job. Reforming bones and repositioning features is rarely successful in the best of hands," said Santa Monica plastic surgeon Michael McGuire, a former president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons.
But Dr. Nicholas Chugay, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who has sculpted about 20 people into famous likenesses, says looking like a celebrity need not depend on genetics. "I had one patient who wanted to look like Cher. Another guy wants to look like Julio Iglesias. There is more of a focus on celebrities now -- it is almost celebrity worship."
Chugay has also sculpted a Marilyn Monroe, a Michael Jackson look-alike who works in Las Vegas and an Elvis who is now on tour in Japan. "This is not something that legitimate plastic surgeons want to get involved with. It would take someone a little out of the mainstream to attempt it. We have a hard enough time making burn victims look like they used to," McGuire said.
He said he has heard of celebrity-image surgery from time to time over the past few years but the practice is widely condemned at meetings of plastic surgeons.
Osteopaths call themselves surgeons
Chugay, who was born in China of Russian descent, grew up in Brazil and was educated in the United States. He has been practicing in California since 1977, but he is not an M.D. and is not certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
He is licensed as an osteopathic physician and surgeon and is a member of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery and the Osteopathic Board of Facial Plastic Surgery. Osteopaths are trained in manipulating the skeleton and muscles.
"It's tough to tell with all the hype today. How does the public sort it out?" asked White Plains, New York, plastic surgeon Daniel Morello, who is president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the cosmetic surgeons association certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
"We just had a press release from someone about a 'diamond laser scalpel,' which is completely ridiculous," Morello said. "It turned out to be some kid just out of ENT (ear, nose and throat) residency. Too often that's the case."
"Anybody with an M.D. after his name can do surgery. It's scary," said Leida Snow, a spokeswoman for the society.
Doctors certified by the plastic surgeons' board have completed a minimum of five years of surgical training after medical school, including a plastic surgery residency program. Although not quite "L.A. Confidential," the film in which 1950s prostitutes go under the surgeon's knife to look like movie stars, some people believe plastic surgery can help them to earn a living.
Chugay said he has not operated on anyone seeking to sell sex with a celebrity, but he acknowledged the practice probably goes on. More common, he said, are people just looking for a model for their new look.
"People told me I looked like him and it seemed like a chance to get a couple of parts and make a few bucks," said former policeman Steve Radford, 55, who, rather incredibly, decided several years ago to look like Tom Arnold.
His big break fizzled when Roseanne, Arnold's ex-wife, put a halt to an unauthorized film biography in which Radford was slated to appear. Instead, the surgically enhanced look-alike said he has made appearances on talk shows such as Leeza and Geraldo. He has yet to meet Tom Arnold but hopes to one day.
"He has mentioned me twice," Radford said.
Chin implant, fat removal
Radford underwent about $20,000 of plastic surgery, including several liposuction procedures, a chin implant and facelift, to achieve his goal. "We took a lot of fat out of you," Chugay told the still heavyset Radford.
"Most people who have these desires probably need a psychiatrist, not a plastic surgeon," McGuire said. "It is just like someone who thinks their marriage is failing because their nose is crooked -- those people don't need plastic surgery."
Chugay said he often refuses patients. "In some cases people come in with pictures that are just not feasible. We have to do a mathematical analysis of their face shape and so on to see what will work."
Other doctors say the idea of trying to make someone look like a celebrity is a recipe for disappointed and frustrated patients. "The whole idea of plastic surgery is to improve and refine. It's quite different when it gets to facial features," Morello said.
Still, fashions in faces are quick to follow box office trends, Chugay noted, with Ricky Martin and Leonardo DeCaprio recently eclipsing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as frequent models for would-be noses or chins. "A lot of times I don't know who these celebrities are. I turn down more people than I do," he said. But Radford said, "I'm certainly glad that I had the surgery," while admitting that so far he has made only "some extra pocket money" from his investment.
The following article has been coverted from .txt files to .html files
By: Madeleine G. [email protected]
For: Info-Implants inc. [email protected]
