The Premiere Site For Celebrity Plastic Surgery By A Real Plastic Surgeon

I'm a Michigan-based Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has been featured on Dr. 90210. The info here is my opinion alone and should not be taken as fact or as medical advice. I've not treated any of the celebrities presented here.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Katie Couric




Has Katie Couric had plastic surgery? From the photos that I've seen, I don't think she's had anything major done. Overall, I think she has aged fairly well, although it is difficult to really know how she looks like since the TV makeup can cover up so much.
She does appear to have had Botox injections to her forehead, resulting in nary a wrinkle up there. Interestingly, she may not have had the injections into her crow's feet, which is a very common place to have them as well. I do not think she's had a facelift or other major plastic surgery, as she does have some early looseness to her neck which is common in people her age.
Now, what SHOULD she consider having? One thing I'd consider is a gummy smile repair. A "gummy smile" is what you see when someone smiles and a significant portion of their gums show (like Lilly Tomlin). There are several treatments for this, including breaking the facial bones and setting them back (very painful), shaving the gums back to show more teeth and less gums (can result in "buck teeth"), or my favorite technique, taught to me by one of my mentors, Dr. Richard Ellenbogen. The gummy smile can be improved by making a small incision inside the nose and the cutting the muscles which pull the lip up. A small plastic implant in then placed between the muscle edges to prevent them from growing back together. It's a very slick operation with virtually no visible scars and nice results. Dr. Ellenbogen has some nice before and afters here.
By the way, I have a small gummy smile and considered having it repaired but never got around to it. Now I just avoid making big, toothy grins.

Photo credit: http://www.geocities.com/couric_fan/gallery.html

12 comments:

Judit said...

I'm curious, Tony--do gummy smiles get worse with age as the lips get thinner? Hers seems much more pronounced in the bottom picture (though maybe she was just smiling naturally as opposed to the more "professional" look in the first one?).

Dr. Tony Youn said...

I haven't seen it necessary worsen with time. Usually it's something that a person develops in their teens and never quite gets rid of. The upper lip does this with age, however, and can cause the upper lip to look too long. Because of this, some surgeons perform upper lip lifts.

Anonymous said...

You know, I saw that page of before and afters and I don't think that lip surgery really does much to improve the look of the patient. It kind of makes the smiles look awkward.

Dr. Tony Youn said...

That is a risk with the gummy smile surgery, because it does divide the muscles that pull the central portion of the lip upwards. Overall though, you are more likely to see it underdone than overdone.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I'm not a fan of correcting the gummy smile. After looking at the before/after pictures, I think everyone looked worse after having the surgery. They didn't natural anymore.

Anonymous said...

I don't like it. No one's smile looks as happy and genuine after the surgery as it did before. I love a li'l plastic surgery but this is no improvement.

Anonymous said...

Yes, their smiles do look a little off... Maybe the mouths don't have a happy shape to them anymore. I can't quite pin-point it.

It is an alternative, however. If anyone wants to give it a try, they should keep in mind that all types of surgeries have their benefits---and their risks.

Anonymous said...

I'm convinced she's had surgery on the right side of her upper lip. On Today the right side of her upper lip used to raise when she spoke. On the CBS News that raise is gone and she has an extra crease on that side, just below her "smile crease". Anyone else notice this?

Anonymous said...

Katie's face has obviously been altered. She does not look good. Looks almost monsterous. CBS, I am sure is not happy with the new look. She did not look like she does now when she signed her contract. She needs to stop. There was alot of comments about her appearance in 2006 when actually she looked good back then.

Anonymous said...

The "new" Katie Couric look is unnatural. The eyes, eyebrows and fuller cheek area make her look "more" serious, but artificially remade. Katie Couric looks harsh with these changes.

jennifer H. said...

It's very obvious that Katie has had some "work" done on her face. I saw her on television this morning and could hardly recognize her. She looked so pretty before. I think plastic surgery is ok, but to mess with your face is a huge decision. I agree that cbs should always put a stop to procedures that are visible on t.v... It takes the focus from news to shock!

Lorrie said...

Interesting that you mention fixing Katie's gummy smile. I've always noticed that about her, and wondered why she didn't do something about it. But after reading about the options, I think I'd be inclined to stick with my God-given smile, too.