9:59am UK, Tuesday August 26, 2003

Singer Barry Manilow is said to have had plastic surgery to his entire face - except the famous nose.

180 barry manilow

Manilow and the famous nose

The 57-year-old is understood to have had a complete upper and lower facelift, including the removal of drooping skin from his eyelids and a skin tightening.

But - pictured leaving a clinic after surgery wearing a woman's blonde wig - Manilow had apparently decided to retain his nose.

Showbiz sources had expected the Copa Cabana star to have a spot of work done to the nose after breaking it in a freak accident where he walked into a wall and knocked himself out.

The Daily Mail reported that many people had expected him to use the accident as a reason to undergo a facial reworking.

Plastic surgeon Alex Karidis told the newspaper: "A lot of patients come up with elaborate stories to explain why they have had surgery to avoid saying they were simply having a nose job.

"And with someone like Barry Manilow it would have been hard for him to avoid people trying to prevent him having surgery.

"But if he can now say there is a reason to have the surgery, like he has a bump on his nose, then it makes it easier for him to go ahead and have the operation."