Orange County Register

Photos: Above, Mickey Rourke at the Oscars on Sunday. Below: Mickey Rourke last fall. (AP photo)

COMEBACK KID

Mickey Rourke’s face is looking much better than it did last fall, when the actor’s face seemed to have fallen victim of his fascination with boxing and inept plastic surgery to repair the damage he’d done to himself in the ring.

Not only has Rourke, 56, made a comeback as an actor but his face is making a comeback of its own. Cosmetic doctors who saw him during Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony commented on the recovery he has made.

Some of them even suggested that he’d be better off if he stays away from plastic surgeons for the foreseeable future.

For example, dermatologist Dr. Vince Afsahi of Tustin and Newport Beach said:

At this point I would consider holding off on cosmetic procedures and let nature take its course. Sometimes doing nothing will allow the body to return to its natural state.

It’s obvious he suffered trauma and may have had several procedures to correct this, but at this point avoiding the knife may benefit him over the long haul.

Plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente agreed:

The older images were probably [shortly after] his treatment, which may have included a facelift and/or facial fillers. Early after facial work, swelling is expected and can take time to resolve. It can make people look pretty scary.

For now I think he could use some skin care, but otherwise I would leave him alone for the time being. If he still smokes, getting off cigarettes will help preserve him more than anything else.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Michael A. Persky of Encino said Rourke should turn to a cosmetic doctor who’s more skilled at injecting fillers into the lips. Skin treatment with a fractionated CO2 laser could also help, he said:

My impression on Mickey Rourke is that he had a bad facelift many years ago and too early. He has looked unnatural since. Children say that he looks scary.

What I found most distracting and unnatural while watching the Oscars was the excess filler throughout his entire lower lip giving it the appearance of a sausage. Hopefully that is a non-permanent filler, and next time less is put in (lower lip should be only about 30% larger than upper lip), and the filler should only be placed into the middle two thirds of the lower lip.

Related links:

About men–

• Boxing + age = Mickey Rourke’s face, he says
• Pacino, Nicholson and De Niro vs. old age
• Plastic surgery opponent Cate Blanchett says wrinkles can be sexy
• George Clooney likes his wrinkles, rules out Botox
• Harrison Ford is showing his age, but rejects plastic surgery
• Botox spared Gordon Ramsay’s trademark wrinkles, local doc says

About women –

• Priscilla’s face divides cosmetic docs; what about you?
• Sally Field is thinking of getting plastic surgery; what’s your advice?
• Anti-Botox star Sarah Jessica Parker rebuffs men’s scorn
• Buddhist sex kitten Mamie Van Doren vs. the signs of aging
• Victoria Principal said she wouldn’t reveal plastic surgery, but those photos …
• The world’s most powerful Botoxed celebrities

Slide shows:

• Oscar’s actresses keep their youthful appeal
• Top celebrity slide shows of all time
• Tara Reid’s career as she copes with bad breast surgery
• Kellie Pickler photos — before breast implants, after, and now
• Cindy Crawford’s enduring appeal
• Many facets of Angelina Jolie