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Despite her high-voltage personality, the long hours were taking a toll. She felt she appeared run-down-an unwanted impression she worried could hamper her professionally. "I felt like my eyelids were heavier, and it made me look tired," she says. "It wasn't really reflecting who I am."

So Wilson did what some professionals do to maintain their looks in a competitive business world and youth-centered society-she turned to cosmetic surgery. In December, she had her eyelids lifted and the skin under her eyes resurfaced for a tighter, more youthful appearance. Wilson also gets Botox injections to erase frown lines and other evidence of aging. "I'm 49 --years old, and people think I'm in my early 40s, if not 40," she says. 

In doctor's offices throughout Southwest Florida, realtors, lawyers, executives and even physicians themselves are wiping years off their faces and bodies with the help of high-tech lasers, quick-fix injections and more invasive, traditional surgical procedures such as facelifts.

It's not surprising. Some Americans love to look young-and they'll pay handsomely for it. In 2001, almost 21 million people nationwide had cosmetic work while doctors' fees totaled $6.9 billion, industry figures show. Many patients are financing the expense with disposable income, credit cards or finance plans offered by Web sites such as www.healthready.com. The most popular procedures are laceration repair, nose reshaping, liposuction, eyelid surgery, chemical peels, microdermabrasion (sanding dead layers of skin to stimulate the growth of its deeper layers), Botox, collagen injections and laser hair removal. 

"Most people do it just to look a little younger," says Dr. Ralph R. Garramone, who practices in Fort Myers. Time creeps up on people. For years, they don't realize it until one sobering look in the mirror, he says. "It catches up with them all at once," he says. "More and more people come in and say, 'I didn't look like this a year ago.'"

His patients run the spectrum. Some want a quick-fix that can be done on a lunch break and last for months-for example, the paralytic substance Botox. The botulinum toxin-derived drug created such a stir last year upon the Food and Drug Administration's approval for cosmetic use that people threw parties at their homes and invited doctors to administer it. The injections can cost a few hundred dollars per session and last about three to four months.

Other patients with the time and money go in for more extensive work-browlifts, eyelifts and facelifts, among them. Some combine those procedures, which can cost thousands, if not more, with other treatments such as lasers to decrease wrinkling even further. (The laser affects the skin by attacking lines while lifts pull up skin and muscles.)

"I've had realtors go out the next day and show houses," says Garramone, who predicts that a few other procedures may become as popular as Botox. Recently approved by the FDA, Artecoll is a mixture of collagen and microscopic particles. It's a more permanent material than other collagen products.

The majority of cosmetic surgery patients are women, but a few more men are making visits for alterations such as hair transplants and more subtle changes.

"I have had several men lately that are concerned about their upper eyelids," says Naples-based Dr. Mark Prysi. He recently did a browlift on a 39-year-old bond trader. Before the surgery, "people would ask him if he was tired in the middle of a presentation," he says.

Dr. Jonathan Frantz of Florida Eye Health, which has offices in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Naples, performs laser vision corrective surgery on patients tired of dealing with eyeglasses and contact lenses. "It's one distraction they don't need," he says.

The technology is fast and not very invasive. In Lasik, Frantz changes the shape of the cornea by either flattening or steepening it. Both eyes usually can be done in one session in 15 to 20 minutes. Patients can see well the next day, although a full recovery takes about a week.

Meanwhile, Frantz' business partner, Dr. John Nassif, offers other cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, lifts, laser peels, collagen and Botox. "[Cosmetic surgergy] is becoming not only accepted, but it's also becoming a valuable asset in helping people's careers," he says.