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Plastic Surgeons Salute 'Baywatch'

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Man is the author of The Art of Man: The Faces of Plastic Surgery, a guidebook with real-life before and after shots. "I think some of the stars of Baywatch have really shown what cosmetic surgery can do," he said. "Of course, these stars are very nice-looking to start with."

Discovered on the Jumbotron

But one must remember Anderson's own humble start. As a high school student in Vancouver, British Columbia, she wanted nothing more than "to be a beach bum," according to her yearbook.

Then, at a football game in 1989, a cameraman flashed Pam in a dangerously overstretched Labatt's T-shirt on the stadium Jumbotron. The brewer soon hired her to do commercials. Playboy called. Then, somewhere in there, she opted for that world famous anti-gravity chest.

Suddenly, she was wearing a white thong bikini at a surfside wedding to Motley Crew drummer Tommy Lee.

"Pam was very frank. She made strides in taking plastic surgery out of the closet," said Dr. Robert Ersek of Austin, Texas, who says he's operated on just about every part of the human body.

"I've even performed toe-liposuction," he boasts.

Nowadays, you can even watch plastic surgery live on the Internet on sites like celebritydoctor.com, where comedian John Byner's May 1999 face-lift was broadcast into cyberspace.

Dr. Richard Ellenbogen of Los Angeles, who describes himself as "the father of fat transplant surgery," performed the honors on Byner. "We are going public in these events to demystify the process," he said. "It's a new day."

"Celebrity has always been important to the cosmetic surgery business," Ellenbogen said. "When Betty Ford had a face-lift, so many other people who never thought of doing it changed their mind.

"Baywatch just took it to a whole new level because the show was so up-front about emphasizing a certain kind of physical perfection."

Ellenbogen pointed out that Baywatch's success came at a time when cosmetic surgeons were making advances that made it faster and safer for folks to get nips and tucks. "Whenever I consult a patient who wants a breast augmentation, I get the great California questions: 'When can I drive my car?' and 'When can I work out again?'"

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