A Phillippino man recently underwent cosmetic surgery to make him look like his hero – the cartoon character, Superman.
Herbert Chavez is so obsessed with the fictional super hero that he was prepared to have a series of painful operations to make his body and face look like that of the Man of Steel.
However, is using plastic surgery this way the right thing to do?
Cosmetic or plastic surgery is generally used to improve an individual’s features, normally as a consequence of a medical procedure or to remove unsightly blemishes and skin problems. Having plastic surgery purely for ‘fun’ is arguably wrong.
Herbert Chavez, who is 35, has been collecting Superman memorabilia for 21 years, but felt he needed to go that one step further. Speaking with TV reporters in the Philippines he said that he had had a number of operations over some years to enhance his ‘Superman’ looks. These operations include chin augmentation, rhinoplasty, silicone injections and thigh implants to give him a more muscular appearance.
It seems Chavez is not the only person to have undergone serious cosmetic surgery to make them look more like their celebrity heroes. For instance, a former Playboy bunny girl, Sarah Burge is reported to have spent over $500,000 on cosmetic surgery to transform herself into a real-life Barbie doll.
While a British woman spent about $360,000 to look like the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh’s wife – Queen Nefertiti.
While psychiatrists and cosmetic surgeons both agree that obsessions such as this are not necessarily psychologically harmful, having so many operations is risky in other ways.
There is a condition, however, which affects many people, which drives them to extensive plastic surgery, called body dysmorphic disorder, (DBB).
This particular psychological disorder usually begins with a person obsessing over a small defect. Eventually there is an overwhelming desire to do something about it, with plastic surgery being the only solution. However, once they have the work carried out, the patient usually finds something else to become obsessed with and so the dangerous cycle continues.
Speaking about this with reporters, one US plastic surgeon, Dr. Anthony Youn, said: “As a board-certified plastic surgeon, I almost never turn down a patient for reconstructive surgery.”
Psychiatrists and plastic surgeons agree that the risk of surgery simply outweighs the benefits.
“But when it comes to cosmetic surgery I feel obligated to be more selective. In general, cosmetic surgery patients display a higher degree of psychological problems than reconstruction patients.”
“To someone with BDD, a small bump on the nose looks like Carrot Top’s head.”
“Sometimes these patients undergo repeated plastic surgeries to correct imaginary defects. Defects that don’t exist. The result can be a vicious downward spiral making the affected individual look more and more, well, plastic.”
To those who want to look like their celebrity heroes, however, the high price is worth it. But once done, it cannot be reversed.