Radical Body Modification: Cat Man
October 9th, 2013
Now that tattoos are no longer shocking and seem to be on track to be commonplace in mainstream pop culture, some people are upping the ante. I was recently interviewed on KARE-11 TV about the trend of Ear Gaging. The latest trends in radical body modification probably appeal to people wanting to push the limits. Dennis Avner, typifies this extreme and is the Nevada man who spent years trying to look like a cat (pictured here). Avner underwent a series of radical body modification procedures to transform his body into a female cat.
Avner’s operations have included bifurcation (splitting) of his upper lip, surgically pointing his ears, silicone cheek and forehead implants, tooth filing, tattoos, multiple facial piercings, getting whiskers implanted and making a mechanical tail. It is unclear whether Avner was ever evaluated for any mental disorders, but the extreme nature of his transformation may have suggested problems. He died at the age of 54 by an apparent suicide.
His surgeries were done by Steve Haworth from Phoenix, Arizona, an artist and pioneer of body modification techniques. Steve Haworth is responsible for the invention and popularization of subdermal and transdermal implants. Haworth is the subject of the 2007 documentary Flesh & Blood by director Larry Silverman. The industry is largely unregulated and although surgical techniques are often used to accomplish this fringe body modification, people seeking procedures are deemed clients, rather than patients.
In spite of hazards due to these procedures being done outside the medical community, the trend remains a popular sub-culture. Body modifications are often difficult to reverse and sometimes require several expensive plastic reconstructive surgeries to accomplish returning to a former appearance. While I admit that cosmetic surgery does fall into the category of body modification, I would recommend caution when proceeding with any radical forms body modification.
Photo: Courtesy Belle News
“Boytox” = Botox for Men
October 7th, 2013
Botulinum Toxin Type A or Botox ® remained the #1 non-surgical procedure last year. According to a recent report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) 3,257,913 of these procedures were performed in the United States. Their survey found men’s injections of Botox rose to 342,048 in 2012, showing a slight increase. This growing market has coined two new terms, ‘Boytox’ (male Botox) and ‘Sweatox’ (anti-sweat Botox).
American men now represent about 10% of the patients having Botox procedures overall. In Europe, The Harley Medical Group, the UK’s largest cosmetic surgery provider, also saw a continued rise in the number of male patients having Botox injections. However men in the UK now account for 18% of the total patients having the anti-wrinkle procedures, which are slightly higher than in the US.
As we reported last month, Botox ® has now been approved by the FDA for additional usage to treat the eye wrinkles, that commonly referred to as “Crow’s Feet.†I expect the numbers of patients requesting the anti-wrinkle treatments to continue to swell, as the tsunami of American baby-boomers heads toward retirement at the rate of an estimated 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 years old every day for the next 20 years!
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