Liquid face-lifts all the rage

Plastic and cosmetic surgeries have survived the recession in Orange County, with facial rejuvenation procedures providing a less-expensive option for patients seeking to extend their youth without going under the knife.

This mirrors the national trend, where cosmetic surgical procedures are down nearly 10%, while minimally invasive procedures are up 5%, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Dr. Michael Niccole, founder of CosmetiCare in Newport Beach, says face-lift surgery was one of the top procedures 20 years ago. Now, spa-type facilities are springing up throughout the county, offering laser resurfacing, facial fillers and nerve paralyzers to reverse wrinkles and plump up sagging skin.

The Academy Awards’ red carpet was a prime-time show-and-tell for what Niccole calls “liquid face-lifts” — procedures that could have helped stars such as Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock look remarkably, shall we say, refreshed.

“I can assure you that 90% of the people that were on the TV that night had visited their local dermatologist or plastic surgeon and had these liquid procedures, whether it was Botox or Juvederm,” Niccole said.

His main concern is that anyone with a medical degree can perform liquid face-lifts, even if they have no plastic surgery training. Niccole cautions that such procedures are buyer-beware because some Orange County docs pull out a needle and host Botox parties following nothing more than a weekend how-to seminar.

“I think it’s very much critical because I’ve seen Botox abuse, and I’ve seen where they overdo it, and I think patients look worse,” Niccole said. “Or, they’ll give people fat injections, or fillers, and they’ll do the lips and they’ll look like Daffy Duck.”

So, who decides what’s beautiful, what’s overdone, and what qualifies as a plastic surgery disaster?

Niccole cites the late Michael Jackson’s nose as an example of excessive surgery.

“Give me a break,” he said. “They should have stopped after the second surgery, but the money was there, and the weakness in the surgeon, whose ethics probably got influenced by those thousands of dollars.”

What about the plastic surgeon who agreed to do 10 procedures in one day on Heidi Montag?

“I mean, that’s 50-50,” Niccole said. “I would think maybe the patient should have seen a psychologist, or psychiatrist … because when you get into that many procedures … there’s a problem. Also, in my eyes, as a surgeon, I think you’re jeopardizing the health of a patient. You start getting into four, four-and-a-half, five hours of procedures, the risk factors go skyrocketing.”

Niccole specializes in breast augmentation but says he has his ethical limits, like saying no to tiny women who want mega-huge implants.

“I refused a lot of people over the years,” he said. “There are women who come in who want 800 to 900 [cubic centimeters] on a little teeny torso. I won’t do it. It doesn’t make sense. … But they’ll get it done somewhere else, I can assure you.”

Some might consider “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Alexis Bellino an example of an extreme makeover, but Niccole says he gets requests from patients who want him to duplicate her lips, breasts or other features.

“Many, many people love that look,” he said. “Now, whether you think she’s over-injected, that’s a judgment call, because the old cliche applies: ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ So as long as I don’t think it’s harmful, and it’s within reason, I’ll give them what they’re requesting.”

If the past was primarily surgery, and the present is leaning toward facial rejuvenation, what’s the future in O.C.?

Niccole foresees a time when surgeons will be able to grow fat cells, regenerate muscle tissue and create new brain cells to minimize aging and extend patients’ lives.

“That is a huge, huge thing,” Niccole said. “Stem cell research is probably the thing that’s going to revolutionize youth and longevity in the future.”