Forget technology stock options and Startec cell phones.
The latest status symbol among male Wall Streeters is the chin implant.
Plastic surgeons say their waiting rooms are overflowing with young Turks desperate for Michael Douglas or Arnold Schwarzenegger chins.
Manhattan plastic surgeon Darrick Antell says he’s seen the number of men requesting chin implants double over the past five years.
“Men are nervous about losing their jobs and feel that a new chin will give them a stronger, more forceful appearance,” said Antell.
“They feel that people will pay more attention to them if they look more masculine. And anecdotally, many of my patients do feel that the implants have helped them professionally.”
Matt, a Manhattan contractor who got an implant six weeks ago, hopes his new chin will help him drum up more work in the lagging economy.
“So far I haven’t noticed any difference but, hey, it’s worth a shot,” said the 38-year-old he-man.
Matt said he asked for a Michael Douglas-esque chin, but his surgeon talked him out of it.
“My doctor said, ‘That chin’s too strong, it won’t look right with your nose or the rest of your face,'” he recalled.
Still, Matt’s happy with the results.
“My surgeon got rid of my wimpy little chin and gave me a much more masculine one. I look and feel stronger. Women take notice.”
The most common celebrity requests are for the chiseled chins of father-son duo Kirk and Michael Douglas, and the manly mouths of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brad Pitt.
But doctors caution that those chins aren’t for everyone.
“If we give a man’s chin too much definition, oftentimes it won’t look right with the rest of his face,” said Michael Bruck, director of plastic surgery at the JUVA skin and laser center in Manhattan.
And not all men desire celebrity chins.
“A lot of men come into my office asking, ‘You aren’t going to make me look like Jay Leno, are you?'” said Antell. Others fear they’ll end up with Woody Allen’s bony chin.
The operation itself only takes a couple of hours and generally costs about $2,500.
“It’s a very easy procedure with minimal side effects – you book it for a Thursday afternoon and you’re back at work on Friday,” said Manhattan plastic surgeon Bruce Nadler.
Often, the procedure is done with neck liposuction to enhance the appearance of the jawline.
Paul, a 45-year-old doctor, said he’s reaped massive professional benefits since undergoing the procedure four months ago.
“People knew something was different about me but they couldn’t pinpoint what it was. They asked me if I’d lost weight,” he recalled.
“It’s made me look much more powerful and given me a much stronger profile. I no longer worry about being perceived as weak. It gives me more authority – patients trust me more.”
But some doctors remain skeptical.
“These men may feel better about themselves, so they act more confident, but I doubt it could save anyone’s job,” said Donald Wood-Smith, chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in Manhattan.
Stuart, a 55-year-old Long Island real-estate developer who’s had an implant for four years, also scoffs at the notion that a strong chin translates into job security.
“It’s not like all these receding chins caused a recession,” he said.
“A new chin will help you feel better about yourself, but it’s no guarantee of a better job or more secure financial future.”