The Strangest Plastic Surgeries People Actually Pay For

Plastic surgery has come a long way in the past 100 years. These days, it's pretty normal to tweak a thing or two without anyone batting an eyelid. Sagging skin at 60? Get a facelift. Hate your nose? Book a nose job. It's all part of a broader cultural shift toward bodily autonomy; if you've got the money and the guts, why not? Plus, almost all of us have that one part of our bodies we'd tweak just a little if we didn't have to go under the knife.

But leave it to the beauty industry and our favorite villain, capitalism, to push things from "understandable self-enhancement" to "let's create a brand new insecurity so we can sell you the fix." And now we're deep into the uncanny valley. Some of the aesthetic surgeries out there are not only shocking, they're medically risky, borderline dystopian, and slowly becoming mainstream. If you thought elf ears, split tongues, or fake abs were "extreme," these strange aesthetic plastic surgery procedures will give a new definition to the word.

Colored contacts were a blessing for anyone wishing their eyes came in a different shade. Certain colors are seen as more unique or appealing, and that's fine. What's a little harder to justify is undergoing actual surgery to color your eyes. The procedure, called keratopigmentation (aka corneal tattooing), involves using a blade to create a space in the cornea, then injecting dye into the space. Yes, it's as uncomfortable as it sounds and costs around $12,000.

If you're thinking that can't be safe, the American Academy of Ophthalmology agrees with you. Risks include eye damage, allergic reactions to the dye, infection, and, in some cases, dye leakage into the eye. Sure, some patients walk away fine, but others have essentially paid for partial or total blindness. If your eye color really bothers you, maybe skip the tattoo gun for your corneas. Instead, check out our roundup of much safer, simpler ways to get glamorous eyes.

Before we dive in, here's your beginner's guide to palm reading crash course. Some believe the lines on your palm aren't random squiggles at all; they supposedly reveal your future, from wealth and love to luck. Now imagine this: You get a palm reading, and the verdict isn't great. Do you accept your fate? Or do you drop a grand on surgery to have a doctor burn better fortune into your hands?

Yes, that's a real thing. For around $1,000, patients literally draw the lines they want on their palms, and the surgeon traces them with an electric scalpel, searing the skin so the lines scar permanently (regular cuts would heal and fade). The doctor even checks to make sure the chosen lines are "good fortune" lines, then uses a slightly shaky trace so they look authentic. It's most common in Asia, but like many questionable beauty trends, it's slowly spreading.

For those convinced their shoulders are too broad, there's an actual surgery where doctors remove a small section of the clavicle, also known as the collarbone, to slim the shoulder width. They do this by putting the patient under anesthesia, breaking their clavicle, taking a bit of bone from each side, and using metal plates to hold the bones in place and help them fuse.

The wildest part is that the "benefits" lean heavily into outdated beauty standards. Clinics market it as a way to improve appearance, make clothes fit better, and create a more feminine frame. In other words, it's aimed at women and reinforces the idea that broad shoulders somehow make you less feminine, which is obviously ridiculous because the oversized shoulder silhouette is a popular trend.

Like all surgeries, it comes with scars and, in this case, a long recovery. Expect up to four months of healing, with at least two weeks spent in a sling. Cost-wise, this procedure could set you back between $8,500 and $35,000, according to internet sources.

If you thought liposuction was strictly a tummy and thigh thing, meet toe lipo, the procedure for people who think their toes are too chunky and want a slimmer foot silhouette. The process is similar to traditional liposuction; the surgeon makes small cuts, inserts a cannula, and vacuums out the fat cells. It's usually over within an hour, but like most surgeries, it comes with pain. The risks range from bruising and swelling to more serious complications like infection and even pulmonary embolism. However, if everything goes well, the patient will be back out there in no time because liposuction is among the types of plastic surgery with the shortest downtime.

Toe tucks often come bundled with toe reshaping, either shortening or lengthening, depending on your aesthetic goals. Toe shortening involves slicing off a small section of bone to make the toe look shorter, while toe lengthening requires inserting either a piece of bone (sometimes harvested from the heel) or a metal device. The new piece is fixed in place with screws, wires, or plates before the toe is stitched up.

While nothing says dedication to beauty like sculpting your toes one bone at a time, many surgeons argue that altering toe length for purely cosmetic reasons just isn't worth the pain, downtime, or potential complications.