Linda Briggs

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This week, Anne looks at the increasing number of men opting for the scalpel.  Has male vanity finally gone too far?

Men and plastic surgery

We're all getting pretty used to the debate among women about plastic surgery.  But I had to stifle a hypocritical chortle when I read about Mike (see page 13), the 56 year old Yorkshire man who's had his eyelids done and could soon be heading for a facelift.  Male vanity, I sniggered!  Then I realised that the only two of my friends who've had plastic surgery are men.

One is a good mate who used to be my personal trainer.  He's tall, gorgeous, very heterosexual and has had exactly the same operation as Mike - a reduction of the droopiness around the eyelids.  When he announced he was having the op, I told him he was mad.  His eyes looked fine to me.  But he was insistent, saying he worked in an industry where looks were important.  He could mould his body into that of an Olympic athlete, but - without a surgeon - he couldn't do anything about his face.  Many of his women friends, his girlfriend included, tried to talk him out of it.  Yet most of us would have defended our own rights to visit a plastic surgeon.  So why couldn't we accept that men have vanities too?  Why should it only be a woman's prerogative?  And yet, isn't there something a little off about men who spend too long in the bathroom?

I went to visit my friend at his home, a week later.  His head was twice its usual size and he was still drinking through a straw.  For the first time, I realised what a dangerous and painful business cosmetic surgery can be.  I wish I could tell you that, a couple of months later, he looked years younger but in fact, I never did see the difference.  Except in his demeanour.  Suddenly he was brighter, more confident and his career took off.  His girlfriend said their sex life got a terrific boost.  He felt as though he looked so much better that life did indeed improve, even if cynics like me couldn't see any transformation.

My other male friend has liposuction, which reduced his waistline and made him a must-have party guest, because he'll tell you anything you've ever wanted to know about the whole process - right down to the goriest details!

Mike says his mum's initial reaction was, 'Be careful, I raised you to be a man'.  So that's what we're all scared of!  My mother reminded me that there was a similar outcry when after-shaves first came on the market.  Real men wouldn't wear them.  British men made do with soap and water, then an army of US soldiers were posted over here in the war - and a whole generation of British girls learned that men could smell nice and still be macho.

As for me, I still love Robert Redford, even though his craggy face now looks more sculpted.  He insists its all natural and the secret is surely subtlety.  And never get hooked on the experience.  Those who do, end up with such fixed smiles that they can't even laugh at themselves!

Linda and Mike didn't leave their hotel room for five days.  But any moans coming from behind the door were caused by pain, not passion.   The couple were recovering from his-and-hers plastic surgery in Zagreb, Croatia.  Linda laughingly admits they made a sorry sight.  "I had to suck my food through a straw and the dressings round my mouth looked like a goatee," she says

'Mike had two black eyes peering out from the sterilised strips covering his stitches.  We ordered room service and watched TV, but I did get fe d up listening to Mike whingeing.  I couldn't talk very well, b ut I wanted to tell him. Just put up and shut up"

It was Mike's first time under the knife -an operation to remove the bags under his eyes and reduce the droopiness over his lids.  But Linda's no stranger to surgery.  She had a face lift three years ago. and now has reg ular maintenance work costing thousands of pounds - Botox injections in her forehead and around her eyes, Perlane in her nose-to-mouth lines, and laser treatment to reduce the fine lines around her eyes.

When Mike had his eye operation in September, Linda took the opportunity to have dermabrasion - where the skin surface is removed to its deeper layers - on the fine lines around her top lip and mouth

The couple, who run their own cosmetic surgery advisory service, admit they were their own guinea pigs - sampling Croatian surgery before recommending it to others

People are suspicious of surgery in Eastern European countries, says Linda " But this surgeon is first-rate, his facilities are scrupulously clean and the standard of hotel service is better than in Britain.'

Mike's surgery cost £I 500-£1,000 less than he would have paid in the UK.  L inda also reckons she saved £1,000 on her dermabrasion, which only cost £200

'I had a local anaesthetic, so it didn't hurt at all'. says Linda.  'It left like a shoe cleaner buffing my skin.   My face was sore afterwards and the scabs were disgusting, but five days later, I could put concealer on and go out for the rest of our 12-day stay'

Mike says he was very nervous before his surgery.  Awake, but anaesthet ised during the two-hour operation he says, 'I could feel something being drawn across my top eyelid that felt like a pencil - I guess that was the scalpel.  It's made me more appreciative of what Linda endured.  My surgery is a fraction of what she had'

You couldn't find a more unlikely candidate for plastic surgery.  Mike is a plain-speaking Yorkshireman.  He's 56, grey haired and favours t weed jackets

Since Linda's surgery, Mike has found himself drawn into a world he never knew existed.  By August 2000, Linda had quit her jobs as a lawyer and special constable to concentrate on setting up an advisory website for anyone considering surgery.  In January 2001, Mike also decided to leave his job as a quality controller in a factory manufacturing aircraft parts,to join Linda's business

'I never thought I'd be sitting here talking about cosmetic surgery' says Mike. who's been married to Linda for seven years.  I still get uncomfortable talking about it.  But most of my friends are in the plastic surgery business, while my old friends have receded from my life.'

'My background is very northern, very male.  When my mum heard I was goin g to work with Linda she was horrified.  Her first reaction was, 'Oh Michael be careful, I brought you up as a man".  Often, when we g o to events, I'm the only man dressed as a man - you meet a lot of transvestites and transsexuals in this business

Linda, now 48 underwent her first operation in August 1999.  She had upper and lower eyelid reduction, and a lower facelift to get rid of the saggy skin under her chin.  She decided to go for it following an incident at her sister Debbie's wedding, when someone asked if Linda was the bride's mum.  I was re ally upset,' recalls Linda, I'd spent a fortune on looking good.   I'd had my hair dyed and cut, I'd bought a nice suit and had a fortnights worth of beauty treatments.'

She didn't tell Mike her plans u ntil she'd chosen the surgeon  He was very worried, but I just said. "It's my face and I'm doing it, so get used to the idea" she says

The couple had started building a new house after their former home developed a subsidence problem and had to be demolished.  Linda used £ 4,800 from their building funds to pay for her surgery.  Compared to the cost of our house, it seemed a snip, and renovating my face was far more important,' she says

Ironically, while the business of facial renovations has taken over their lives. Linda and Mike are still working on building their dream home in Welney Norfolk.   They simply don't have time to organise the building work.

Linda was delighted with her facelift.  As soon as the scars had healed, she swapped her short, red haircut for blonde extensions, and her classic suits for her first pair of leather trousers

'When people look old, they're ignored, she says I hadn't changed inside, but people attitudes to me changed after my facelift.

They made eye contact and smiled.  Before they must have thought I look ed a hard faced old cow.  This is a really shallow world we live in - and I'm gong to exploit it now that I can.'

Mike loves having a youthful-looking wife.  'I bask in Linda's reflected glory' he says proudly

'They either think he's incredibly rich or well hung,' shrieks Linda

A few months after her facelift,  Linda discovered her surgeon, David Herbert had been dubbed the flying doctor for the speed with which he operated.   He'd left score s of women in misery from botched surgery

In August 2000 after being criticised in the House of Commons by MP Anne Clywd, he had his licence to operate suspended for 12 months by the General Medical Council He was then suspended for six months in 2001 and has since withdrawn from medical practice.

He did a good job on me, but I could have been another statistic and that frightened me, says Linda

Worse still Mr Herbert had offered Linda a job as a consultant.  I had a lucky escape she says,  I could have been responsible for women deciding to have operations that weren't done properly.  I wanted to help people make an informed choice about what was best for them.  Now I'm like a database of cosmetic sur gery info.

But all of Linda's knowledge couldn't persuade Mike to sample surgery.  If I  was feeling grumpy, . I'd tell him -your 'face is sagging or 'you've got too many chins." she admits with a laugh.

Last year Mike had £4,000 worth of cosmetic dentistry work.  I needed it. he insists, I never used to smile because my teeth were such a graveyard now I've lost all my serf consciousness

Linda and Mike were on a fact-finding mission to Croatia earlier this year, when the surgeon there suggested Mike could benefit from eye surgery.  Much to Linda's amazement, Mike agreed.

I never, ever thought I'd have surgery, he admits now.  I was very anxious when Linda said she wanted a facelift But I have to admit, without her new look, nothing we're experiencing now could ever have happened to us

So is Mike planning to have more surgery?   Linda would like me to.  She says i'II eventually need a facelift.   I don't want to make it a habit, but I'd have more if I felt l needed it. he says

Meanwhile, Linda's already planning her next plastic surgery holiday - she's off to Holland with a girlfriend to have cut-price liposuction