Diva
03-16-02, 04:45PM
LONDON (Reuters (http://www.reuters.co.uk/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=AJKHAPKP2BNH4CRBAE0C FEYKEEATGIWD?type=humannews&StoryID=704185)) - A London clinic is charging stressed professionals 4,000 pounds to drill a hole in their armpits, snip away their nerve endings and eliminate their blushes for good.
Its patients include television presenters and financiers, fearful that any sign of weakness could damage their careers.
"We're talking about professional people whose lives have been blighted by blushing," Anthony Mitra, surgical director of the exclusive Highgate Private Hospital in north London, told Reuters.
In the 40-minute operation, surgeons drill a hole near the patient's armpit and insert a telescope to view the delicate procedure which involves clipping the nerve endings at the base of the neck that trigger blushing.
Mitra said business was brisk.
Recent visitors included a TV presenter and bankers who said they had opted out of front-line jobs on trading floors and chosen a lower profile due to their excessive blushing.
"If you're negotiating a deal or a contract and you blush, then you give your position away. When you're in business, the only emotions you want to convey are the ones you're in charge of," Mitra said.
Patients are kept overnight, but Mitra said the effects of the treatment were immediate. The surgery does not leave any visible scars. Side-effects can include increased sweating.
Mitra said patients were an even mix of men and women and that celebrities sometimes visited the clinic, though he declined to name names. "Whoever thought blushing was a serious problem?" he said.
The things people do to further themselves in their career. Fake breasts, nose jobs, liposuction and facelifts are just a fraction. They remove ribs, add jawbone, cut ears, bleach skin and even chip teeth [Brad Pitt did this for his movie "Fight Club"]. Jay Leno was told that he should surgically break his jaw and shorten it, otherwise he'd never make it in Hollywood.
People die from these procedures. Things go wrong. You can be maimed for life. This isn't taking a pair of jeans to the tailors.
Would you go to such lengths for your career?
Its patients include television presenters and financiers, fearful that any sign of weakness could damage their careers.
"We're talking about professional people whose lives have been blighted by blushing," Anthony Mitra, surgical director of the exclusive Highgate Private Hospital in north London, told Reuters.
In the 40-minute operation, surgeons drill a hole near the patient's armpit and insert a telescope to view the delicate procedure which involves clipping the nerve endings at the base of the neck that trigger blushing.
Mitra said business was brisk.
Recent visitors included a TV presenter and bankers who said they had opted out of front-line jobs on trading floors and chosen a lower profile due to their excessive blushing.
"If you're negotiating a deal or a contract and you blush, then you give your position away. When you're in business, the only emotions you want to convey are the ones you're in charge of," Mitra said.
Patients are kept overnight, but Mitra said the effects of the treatment were immediate. The surgery does not leave any visible scars. Side-effects can include increased sweating.
Mitra said patients were an even mix of men and women and that celebrities sometimes visited the clinic, though he declined to name names. "Whoever thought blushing was a serious problem?" he said.
The things people do to further themselves in their career. Fake breasts, nose jobs, liposuction and facelifts are just a fraction. They remove ribs, add jawbone, cut ears, bleach skin and even chip teeth [Brad Pitt did this for his movie "Fight Club"]. Jay Leno was told that he should surgically break his jaw and shorten it, otherwise he'd never make it in Hollywood.
People die from these procedures. Things go wrong. You can be maimed for life. This isn't taking a pair of jeans to the tailors.
Would you go to such lengths for your career?