By Cynthia Daniels
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/31/07
Dose of reality brings facials 'into the open'
Dr. Brian Maloney specializes in new noses, mouths, eyelids and chins.
And while the plastic surgeon might not approach the popularity of reality TV stars like Jessica Simpson, he's amassed his own following since 2000, when he started appearing on the Learning Channel and then the Discovery Health Channel's "Plastic Surgery: Before and After."
Now Maloney said he can't go out to dinner without being recognized.
The shows have brought facial plastic surgery "into the open," Maloney said.
"There's none of that apprehension I had in the past," he said. "I see the spectrum, from lawyers to construction workers —- that's the beautiful thing."
The Maloney Center sits inside a colonial-looking office building on Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs. Piano music plays softly in the lobby and classical paintings hang on the walls.
From here, Maloney has planned the facial transformation of more than 10,000 patients, including a schoolteacher who felt his older looks were preventing him from relating to his students and a Boston woman whose botched surgery left her looking like something was tugging at her skin.
Maloney starts preparing for a surgery about two weeks in advance, working on the look he wants to provide. He says he performs each surgery about three times —- in his head —- before entering the operating room.
Two years ago, Maloney performed a chin implant and facial liposuction on Jimmy Smith of Roswell.
Born deaf and living with an untreated broken jaw since childhood, Smith suffered from low self-esteem. The surgery gave him a more defined chin and added shape to his face.
It changed his life.
"My confidence has boosted with my new look," said Smith, who's started his own painting business, Elegant Touch Painting, since the surgery. "I'm enjoying life and making a new start."
WHO NEEDS WHAT
Here is what many of Maloney's patients are looking for, by age group:
20s: Usually a nose change, but some opt to transform their chins, too. Facial liposuction and botox also are popular.
30s and early 40s: Surgically soften their faces through face lifts and eyelid lifts.
