Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Man in the Mirror

Aired November 18, 2002 - 11:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we've been hearing a lot about entertainer Michael Jackson, who's in the midst of a lawsuit alleging that he backed out of two millennium concerts. Now, Jackson says it was the concert promoter that backed out but when he took the stand last week, what he looked like on the stand got more attention than what he was saying. Emory health care's chief of facial plastic surgery, Dr. Seth Yellin, joins us here in the studio to talk about what he thinks is going on with Michael Jackson. Good to see you. How are you?.
DR. SETH YELLIN, DIR. EMORY MEDICAL FACIAL CENTER: Good morning.

HARRIS: Let's talk about this Jackson 5 that we mentioned before going to the break. You said you've been looking at Jackson for some time now, and you've come up with five different ways of looking at him. As a matter of fact, we have him up on the screen right now.

YELLIN: Yeah, I mean, the images that you see before you really represent a transformation. And I believe that Michael Jackson really represents a minority of patients in the field of facial plastic surgery. Here's an individual that is looking to really drastically change the way he appears. Most people would like to enhance, not necessarily change, the way they appear. However, at some point there is a diminishing return. You just can't continually operate on the face and expect it to behave in a fashion that over time improves rather than degenerates.

HARRIS: If we could put that slide up one more time and I want to ask you if you can look at this collection of photos right now, and if you can tell me how many surgeries do you think it would take to get a person in the state he is in that last slide there. How many do you think he's had?

YELLIN: I couldn't really put a number on it, except that I can tell you it's certainly in excess of one.

HARRIS: That's easy -- that's an easy guess.

YELLIN: And probably in excess of five or six. I mean, the fact is that the soft tissues of the face just do not tolerate multiple procedures. And in particular let's focus on someone's nose like Michael Jackson's nose.

HARRIS: All right.

YELLIN: You have to remember that a nose is a functioning organ. It doesn't only have to look good, it has to work. The image that we all saw from the trial really speaks to a nose that I think has a difficult time functioning, and -- it's a personal opinion -- but I think probably is not aesthetically pleasing, as well.

HARRIS: What kind of counseling do you think he's getting when he goes to get surgery? It's a tough question to ask and to answer because none of us are involved on the firsthand level on the story, but don't you think normally when a patient goes to a doctor, they get some kind of counseling before they jump on the table to get procedures done?

YELLIN: That's an excellent question, and I say that it's very difficult for people like Michael Jackson to really get people to talk honestly to them. When you are in a position of power, it often distorts the interaction. And I think that even responsible plastic surgeons maybe faced with a circumstance in which Michael Jackson can put some additional pressure on them to do things perhaps against their better judgment.

HARRIS: It's odd to think that a person of his stature with all he's achieved would have a problem with self-hate, and that's what you believe he is dealing with here. Do you think that it should be a normal procedure to get some sort of psychological screening before people gets a number of plastic surgeries or wha?

YELLIN: Well, first of all, I don't think that this necessarily represents self-hatred, but clearly there is a sense that he is unhappy with the way he looks, based on the fact that he's gone through all these procedures. I think that good counseling is part of any responsible plastic surgery consultation. And part of what I do as a plastic surgeon is determine, does this patient's expectations match my expectations? Can I achieve what they're realistically expecting of me? And am I going to make them happy? And I think that's ultimately the question you have to ask every time.

HARRIS: Well, every time he shows up in public, he generates more of those kinds of questions.

YELLIN: I would imagine.

HARRIS: Dr. Seth Yellin, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.

YELLIN: My pleasure. Thank you.

HARRIS: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 18, 2002 - 11:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we've been hearing a lot about entertainer Michael Jackson, who's in the midst of a lawsuit alleging that he backed out of two millennium concerts. Now, Jackson says it was the concert promoter that backed out but when he took the stand last week, what he looked like on the stand got more attention than what he was saying. Emory health care's chief of facial plastic surgery, Dr. Seth Yellin, joins us here in the studio to talk about what he thinks is going on with Michael Jackson. Good to see you. How are you?.
DR. SETH YELLIN, DIR. EMORY MEDICAL FACIAL CENTER: Good morning.

HARRIS: Let's talk about this Jackson 5 that we mentioned before going to the break. You said you've been looking at Jackson for some time now, and you've come up with five different ways of looking at him. As a matter of fact, we have him up on the screen right now.

YELLIN: Yeah, I mean, the images that you see before you really represent a transformation. And I believe that Michael Jackson really represents a minority of patients in the field of facial plastic surgery. Here's an individual that is looking to really drastically change the way he appears. Most people would like to enhance, not necessarily change, the way they appear. However, at some point there is a diminishing return. You just can't continually operate on the face and expect it to behave in a fashion that over time improves rather than degenerates.

HARRIS: If we could put that slide up one more time and I want to ask you if you can look at this collection of photos right now, and if you can tell me how many surgeries do you think it would take to get a person in the state he is in that last slide there. How many do you think he's had?

YELLIN: I couldn't really put a number on it, except that I can tell you it's certainly in excess of one.

HARRIS: That's easy -- that's an easy guess.

YELLIN: And probably in excess of five or six. I mean, the fact is that the soft tissues of the face just do not tolerate multiple procedures. And in particular let's focus on someone's nose like Michael Jackson's nose.

HARRIS: All right.

YELLIN: You have to remember that a nose is a functioning organ. It doesn't only have to look good, it has to work. The image that we all saw from the trial really speaks to a nose that I think has a difficult time functioning, and -- it's a personal opinion -- but I think probably is not aesthetically pleasing, as well.

HARRIS: What kind of counseling do you think he's getting when he goes to get surgery? It's a tough question to ask and to answer because none of us are involved on the firsthand level on the story, but don't you think normally when a patient goes to a doctor, they get some kind of counseling before they jump on the table to get procedures done?

YELLIN: That's an excellent question, and I say that it's very difficult for people like Michael Jackson to really get people to talk honestly to them. When you are in a position of power, it often distorts the interaction. And I think that even responsible plastic surgeons maybe faced with a circumstance in which Michael Jackson can put some additional pressure on them to do things perhaps against their better judgment.

HARRIS: It's odd to think that a person of his stature with all he's achieved would have a problem with self-hate, and that's what you believe he is dealing with here. Do you think that it should be a normal procedure to get some sort of psychological screening before people gets a number of plastic surgeries or wha?

YELLIN: Well, first of all, I don't think that this necessarily represents self-hatred, but clearly there is a sense that he is unhappy with the way he looks, based on the fact that he's gone through all these procedures. I think that good counseling is part of any responsible plastic surgery consultation. And part of what I do as a plastic surgeon is determine, does this patient's expectations match my expectations? Can I achieve what they're realistically expecting of me? And am I going to make them happy? And I think that's ultimately the question you have to ask every time.

HARRIS: Well, every time he shows up in public, he generates more of those kinds of questions.

YELLIN: I would imagine.

HARRIS: Dr. Seth Yellin, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.

YELLIN: My pleasure. Thank you.

HARRIS: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com