Classic Articles:

These articles have been published in both the Washington Post Magazine and The Washingtonian. Select an article by number to view a short description of its' content...then please click on the TITLE to view the complete article.

"Dr. Harvey Austin Defines Cosmetic Surgery"

…As a plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic surgery, I have often wondered how my specialty fits into traditional medicine. I have concluded that it doesn't — at least not easily. Traditional medicine asks the question "What's wrong?" and "How do I fix it?" But these questions are inappropriate for cosmetic surgery. The patient is not sick. One doesn't need cosmetic surgery like one might need an appendectomy. Cosmetic surgery addresses something else…

1. "The Lie of the Mirror"

…Cosmetic surgery is in its infancy. Medicine itself is thousands of years old but cosmetic surgery only began in the mid-twentieth century — perhaps fifty years ago. It is still evolving — so we need to continually ask what role it plays in people's lives…

2. "The Con of the Birthday"

…The con of the birthday, which can be equally damaging, for we use birthdays as the sole measurements of how old we are. But birthdays don't tell our true age…

3. "Our Faces Age Three Ways. How Does Yours Age? Drooping"

…Our lineage determines whether we are in a family line of droopers, wrinklers or gaunters. Cosmetic surgery can minimize these aging effects and have us look more like we feel inside. Drooping is the most common type of aging and it usually shows up earliest. It is also the type of aging cosmetic surgery corrects best…

4. "Wrinkling"

…If your grandparents were wrinklers, you probably will be too. Cosmetic surgical techniques are getting better for wrinklers…

5. "Gaunting"

…"My face used to have baby fat, but now it has no padding at all. It's all angles!", said Mary, 70. "What can you do about it"…

6. "Does your face look the way it should?"

…We want to look good! Our patients say they want to look attractive. And it's true. Deeper down, though, they often admit, "When I look in the mirror, I just don't look right. I want to look more like me"…

7. "What symbols live on your face?"

…Our faces are full of features. and these features are symbols. some features, like large eyes, are symbols of attractiveness. Other features, like bags under the eyes, may symbolize unattractiveness…

8. "Time and Beauty"

…Over time, facial beauty peaks — for most women between 20 and 35, for men a little older. Our face clock runs faster the older we get…

9. "Healing — the Three 'Phases' of Eve"

…At the end of the operation, your face is new and the stitches and "cosmetic clips" hold everything in place for healing to begin. Nature's healing glues is called scar tissue. And, like all glue, the "drying process" passes through phases…

10. "Choosing a Plastic Surgeon"

…You will want to choose your plastic surgeon differently from how you choose other doctors. You need to see the results. Though credentials are important, they are not as crucial as the surgeon's art work…

11. "The Questions We Hear Most"

…Responses to some of the questions that we hear the most from patients…

12. "Healing"

…They say people get crazy around three things — money, sex, and politics. I would add a fourth — healing after cosmetic surgery…

Harvey W. Austin, MD
Box 1470
Berlin MD 21811
email: h.austin@mchsi.com