Ask a Rhinoplasty Patient, Part II (UPDATED)

Elle Woods asks: First, is the 4th Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer the one where Angel goes bad? I loved that season best. Second, if it takes a nose so long to heal how to celebrities sort of get away with hiding it?

Dear Elle,

Thank you for asking! No, the fourth season of BtVS was the one where Buffy went to college and Angel ran off to L.A. (and his own show). Angel goes bad in “Surprise,” during the second season. I agree that season two was probably the best of the series. The fourth season marked a decline in the quality of the story arcs and the remainder of the series suffered from the introduction of the more irritating characters like Tara, Dawn, and Andrew, and while the better ones--Oz, Cordelia, and Joyce—were sent packing.

As for celebrities hiding during their plastic surgery recoveries, I just did a little research on this. I sort of assumed that they just lolled around their well-appointed houses and sent the help out for takeout sushi. I also assumed that their houses were probably much more interesting to hang around than a 9^th-floor two-bedroom condo in west Alexandria. They also don’t have to worry about getting out the TPS reports at the office; as long as she’s ready for her next movie, no one would probably wonder where Catherine Zeta-Jones has been for the last two weeks. Probably off gallivanting to a private island; who would bat an eyelash?

As it turns out, I’m not so far off base. A little Google research revealed that a favored plastic surgery destination for celebrities is a place in the 90210 called Hidden Garden. According to Victoria Duckett (quoting an interview with somebody-or-other in Star magazine) in the book, Meta-morphing: Visual Transformation and the Culture of Quick-change (which examines “digital morphing…as a cultural practice specific to our times and as a link to a much broader history of images of human transformation”--enthralling topic, I’m sure), this clinic “sneaks celebrities into a plush Bentley or Rolls-Royce that delivers them—via a private garage—to a door that leads directly to their room where they hide out in pampered luxury until the swelling subsides.”

So there you have it. Celebrities aren’t confined by the strictures of corporate America’s vacation policies and also have more money than I do. I should also note that everyone is different with their recovery times. Some people have no bruises at all, some people are still bruised a month after surgery. This depends on surgical techniques and what you’re having done. Some folks just have a much more traumatic and invasive surgery than others.

I’ll leave you with today’s photo. Have a great weekend!

***Ahem*** Elle Woods was unsatisfied with my reply, so I will try to clarify--you're only really badly swollen for about a week and a half, and some people not even that. My nose is still definitely swollen, but if you passed me on the street today, you wouldn't notice. Anyhow, there is a whole cottage industry devoted to finding out who had what done in Hollywood.