plastic surgeryWe've read the story of Lindsay Ann Hawker's murderer, Tatsuya Ichihashi, and the controversial book he wrote from his prison cell, Until the Arrest, in which he details the two years he spent hiding from the feds in Japan.

Ichihashi was so determined to avoid being recognized that he performed his own nose job, mole removal, and lip thinning (pics here). He used a box cutter and scissors and covered his scars with surgical masks, which are commonly used in Japan for people suffering from pollen allergies.

It's a gruesome and very sad story, but it raises an interesting question: Only we know our flaws intimately; could we do a better job than a plastic surgeon?

With the right tools and some local anesthesia, maybe. I've never gone under the knife, but only I really know what I would want changed about my lips. Not too much filler, just a smidgen, and only on the top in the middle with less on the sides ... I could do it perfectly. And no matter how you describe it, the doctor can interpret it differently.

It's a common nose job tale, "oh, it's not quite what I wanted, I'm going back in three months to have it re-done." Same with boob jobs.

Maybe instead of home economics freshman year, it should be home cosmetic surgeries, and all the 14-year-olds learn how to use medical tools and use the right amount of numbing agent. Classrooms of the future?

I'm joking of course; the last thing I want is a bunch of plastics roaming the earth. But I do think I'd be my best surgeon. Now if only I had steady hands and a knife kit ...

Do you think it you'd do a better job than your plastic surgeon?

Photo via soundlessfall/Flickr