TV Checkup: Nip/Tuck: You'll Love LA!

Sean and Christian, relocating to the Los Angeles area have finally hit the big time. Yes, Miami has the stone crabs and long white sandy beaches. And, it's a hotbed of Latin cool where beautiful women strut their stuff on South Beach. Still, South Florida is not Southern California.

The world capital of beautification and cosmetic surgery is the greater Los Angeles area. With Hollywood hype and glamour well-entrenched, it follows that the beauty industry cannot be far. With Beverly Hills at the epicenter and surrounded by the affluent Santa Barbara and Orange Counties, this is where both Americans and foreign visitors look for the latest trends and the superspecialized doctors to deliver them. Over 14 million people are within several hours drive; there's a big taste here for looking good.

Staff Photo

So, former Miami boys, welcome to the center stage. The big top. You'll be pleased to know there are lots more patients interested in your services. And less joyous to realize there are loads more of your colleagues willing to provide it. Here, there are more patients -- and more competition.

Get ready to work hard in surgery and work hard at getting patients willing to have you be their surgeon. It's not like everyone has been sitting around waiting for you. Some of the brightest and most talented cosmetic surgeons are already here. Like you fellows, they migrated here from everywhere because this is where the action is.

Actually, this is healthy. More competition and more experience breeds excellence. That's why the patients know to come to Beverly Hills; the performance level is very high.

Here's a heads-up for you. Be prepared to deliver more breast implants; the female population here thinks no more of inserting those natural-looking charmers than they do spiffing up their act with a new designer outfit. They consider them "bolt-ons"; no big deal. You'll hear young women admonishing others to "Get some breasts". Just another discretionary purchase like purses and shoes. And keep in touch with your trainer because you'll need some big biceps and deltoids to man that liposuction cannula. Southern California woman hate fat as much as they despise cold weather. The SoCal outdoor life puts a big premium on looking swimsuit-great.

If you have the talent, better brush up on nose jobs. Wide noses, noses with bumps and noses that hang down don't make it out here. But, be careful. If you cannot deliver a natural nose that doesn't look done, you'll soon find those expensive nasal instruments rusting. Nose jobs have been done in large volumes here long before liposuction and breast augmentation were devised. Out here, women -- and men -- take their noses as seriously as they do their sushi.

Best of luck, welcome to cosmetic surgery prime time and let's see what you've got!

Robert Kotler, MD, FACS
Author, SECRETS OF A BEVERLY HILLS COSMETIC SURGEON

Editor's Note: Dr. Kotler shares his Beverly Hills secrets on his Cosmetic Surgery blog, too!

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