It is not uncommon for identical twins to have a special bond. Often, these siblings share a connectedness that far exceeds what other siblings could ever comprehend. For some, this bond can create an intense rivalry and a desire on the part of each twin to achieve his or her own identity. For others, their identity is forever intertwined with that of their twin.
At times, twins may take this comingling of identities a bit far. Recently, a pair of twins in England has crossed a line that no twins, or any siblings for that matter, should ever cross.
Jo and Kerry Burton have spent almost $100,000 on plastic surgery procedures in an attempt to maintain their identical appearance. Each time they go for surgery, they go together, having the same procedure performed by the same doctor at the same time.
It all started when they were 21. Jo decided she wanted a nose job, so Kerry came along and got one too. Since that watershed moment in their lives, the twins have been plastic surgery junkies, and what gets done to one must always be done to the other.
The Burton twins are now 34. Since their first rhinoplasty 13 years ago, they have gotten an eye lift, breast augmentation, a second nose job, and regular BOTOX injections. They even opted for the same breast size with their implants — 34DD. In order to tell the two apart, their plastic surgeon would write their initials on their bellies before administering anesthesia.
According to Kerry, “We would hate to look different, so we had to have the cosmetic surgery together. We both had chicken pox together as children and we had the same hobbies, such as Brownies and dancing — and so our identical cosmetic surgery followed from that.”
My sister and I had chicken pox at the same time, but we don’t get BOTOX or nose jobs together. I think my friends would have an intervention if we were to do that.
I wonder how they decide on their procedures. If they don’t agree on a particular procedure, is there a bargaining that will take place? I could just see the conversation:
Kerry: Do you suppose we could get bigger boobies this year?
Jo: I don’t know. I kind of like mine the way they are.
Kerry: Come on, it’ll be fun.
Jo: How big?
Kerry: DDs.
Jo: That’s gigantic! I don’t want to walk around with knockers that big. I’ll need a whole new wardrobe.
Kerry: But I really want them. Please?
Jo: Only if you promise we’ll get liposuction next year. My thighs are a bit jiggly when I walk on the beach.
Kerry: But I don’t really want liposuction.
Jo: How bad do you want those DDs?
Kerry: Ok. But I get to choose what we do the next year.
I suppose it must be great to be their plastic surgeon. He always gets double the work and double the fee. Not too shabby. But I have to question the ethics of a plastic surgeon who will continuously perform these procedures on a set of twins so that they could continue to look identical. At some point, enough is enough. What these girls need is not another lift, tuck, or injection. They need some therapy, and maybe an independent identity.
According to the twins, there may very well be more hers and hers surgery to come. Any bets on when the plastic surgery tab will break the $200,000 mark? Early 40s? Mid 50s? Will they get a plaque or a gold watch if they spend more than $500,000 between the two of them?
At first, it may seem cute. However, if they're doing it regularly, year after year, I think the surgeon really would need to refer them to a psychiatrist. There might be some very serious issues underlying this constant need to look exactly the same.
according to a study in great britain, 1 in 5 british plastic surgery patients are referred to a psychologist by their surgeon. you are not too far off in your take.