'We had his 'n' her cosmetic surgery'
As if having cosmetic surgery isn't traumatic enough. Imagine going through it with you partner. That's the new trend in the US - and now surgeons here are even offering discounts for nip-tuck double dates. One couple tells us their story.
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5 Nov 2007
Grazia
'We had his 'n' her cosmetic surgery'
Grazia
'We had his 'n' her cosmetic surgery'
Scared of having surgery alone? Then you'll be glad to hear the hot new trend from the US is plastic surgery a deux, with a recent 47 per cent increase in couples getting it done together and some surgeons offer up to 20 per cent off if two people are doubling up. ‘We've noticed an increasing amount of couples coming to us. Around 20 per cent of our male patients come in because their partner's having surgery too. Having operations together is good for anxiety,' says Shami Choudhry, the spokesperson for Transform Cosmetic Surgeries.
‘Couples go into the same operating theatre and recuperate on the ward together too. Lots do it in the lead-up to their wedding.' So what's the (mutual) attraction? Aside from the obvious bonus of having a bandage buddy to share your soup with, apparently it could do wonders for your relationship.
‘Couples having any sort of work or enhancements are showing that they care about their looks. This often improves their sex life because they're both feeling more confident,' says Dr Simon Myers consultant plastic surgeon at private hospital Capio Springfield, Essex. ‘I've heard of couples buying surgery for each other as presents.'
Seema Mahimi, 20, and her boyfriend Rab Nawaz, 32, both from Birmingham had nose jobs together.
Seema says: ‘As I came round from surgery one of the first faces I saw was Rab's. He was lying in the bed next to mine with bandages covering most of his face. He must have looked the mirror image of me, as we'd both had our noses operated on by the same surgeon just minutes apart.
‘I'd always hated the small bump in my nose. My elder sister, Kam, had teased me about it for years, saying I looked like a parrot. When I got together with Rab four years ago, he said he thought everything about me was beautiful, but I wasn't convinced. Every time he tried to look at me from the side, I moved my head so he couldn't. He told me that he didn't like his nose either.
‘We've always done everything together - live, play and work (at Rab's own telecommunications company). We even got tattoos at the same time.
‘The real incentive for me was quitting smoking at the beginning of last year and thinking what I could spend the money on instead. When I said I was going to save up for a nose job, Rab said he would too.'
‘By January this year, we'd saved up £3,000 each, so we booked in to have our ops done with the Harley Medical Group (www.harleymedical.co.uk). It was great to have Rab there on the journey down to London, because he calmed me. I didn't panic until I was on the hospital trolley being wheeled into the operating theatre, but 30 seconds later I was out cold.
‘Rab had is nose done first and it took about two hours. Mine only took 45 minutes. We recuperated in our private hospital room together, and it was great to have someone there who knows what you are going through emotionally and physically.
‘We spent 10 days cooped up in the flat afterwards with bandages over our noses. We hadn't told anyone that we were having them done - not even our families or friends. We'd have been so lonely if we hadn't got each other. We lounged around watching TV but we did sneak out a couple of times in disguise. We went to McDonald's with our hoods up.
‘When we went to have the bandages removed, they took Rab's off first and I couldn't believe the transformation. He looked so handsome; I fancy him even more now. I love mine - I'd gone in there with pictures of Angelina Jolie and Beyonce, as I pined for a pert nose like theirs - now I think mine's pretty perfect.
‘My mum still doesn't know I've had it done - I've sat just inches away from her and she hasn't noticed it. My three sisters know, though - we invited them round and we just looked at them without saying anything and they looked back at us with concerned expressions, wondering if we'd had a row because both of us had swelling on our faces.
‘It's improved our relationship because we have more confidence in the way we look. Kissing is much more gentle too, as our noses don't get in the way!'
Rab says: ‘I used to be an amateur boxer and my nose was broken in the ring when I was sixteen. It didn't used to bother me, but as I got older I got more stick about it. If I was playing football and the ball hit me in the face, my team mates would say, "Don't worry - it can only make you look better." I laughed along, but inside it bothered me.
‘When I asked Seema what she thought of my nose, she said it could look better. I knew she was conscious about hers too, and although I thought it was fine, it was making her unhappy. We both hated having our photos taken, so we hardly have any pictures of our early years together.
‘When Seema mentioned surgery I thought, "Let's go for it." Going with her also took the stigma out of having it done - I didn't know any other men who'd had cosmetic surgery.
‘Seema was worried while I was being operated on because it took longer than expected. The cartilage was more broken than it first appeared. By the time she'd had hers done, I'd just come round and smiled at her as she opened her eyes.
‘I can't believe what a change it's made to our relationship. The main difference is how confident we feel now - and that's the most attractive quality a person can have. I'd so anything for Seema, and that includes making myself look my best.'
Read more about rhinoplasty procedures and our cosmetic surgery guide.
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