The new nose job

It is not the practice of this news column to encourage plastic surgery of any sort and this item is not breaking that tradition. It is far preferable to love what you’ve got rather than seek fulfilment by altering your physique but given that plastic surgery is a reality for many people these days it is illuminating to observe the trends. The newest trend is that there is a procedure that is more popular than the perennially favoured “boob job” or “nose job”; these days “chin jobs” are in style.

“Chinplants” have become incredibly popular in recent times. In 2011 in the home of plastic surgery, the United States of America, rates of plastic surgery to alter the chin increased by 77 per cent which is greater than the combined increases for breast augmentation, botox, and liposuction.

In case you are interested other big movers included rates of lip augmentation which increased by 49 per cent and cheek implants which increased by 47 per cent.

Chinplants usually involve strengthening the jawline and removing folds of skin that make “double chins”. A chin implant is intended to create a more balanced profile by augmenting a weak, receding chin, reducing a deep fold under the lower lip, or widening a small chin. The bone of the chin can be moved forward or backward, made wider or narrower, shorter or longer. There is a wide variety of implant shapes and materials are available to permit reshaping of the chin. Chin surgery is normally performed under general anaesthesia in a day surgery situation.

The chin it seems is one of the first areas to show ageing signs. Research tells us that CEOs of major corporations tend to be tall, attractive people with strong chins.

It’s not really a surprise that chins would be a popular focus for plastic surgery but the question is why the surge in interest now? The answer may lie in the technology boom. With cameras in phones, photos of us on online social sites, and participating in video conferencing we see ourselves like never before in history. And apparently those wobbly, weak, receding chins are not too pleasing to the eye.

So it seems that these days you just have to have the right chin to go with your smartphone, tablet computer, and interactive television. If you don’t like that, it’s reality, so you’ll just have to take it on the chin.