SAN ANTONIO -- At first, Chuck Angelini just came along for the moral support.

Last fall he regularly accompanied his wife, Pat, to the doctor's office in preparation for her mini face-lift, sitting through the consultations that sought to eradicate her sagging jowls and smooth her aging brow.

But something happened along the way. Chuck grew comfortable with Pat's plastic surgeon. And he started considering that tire of flab that encircled his trunk and refused to be banished through rigorous diet and exercise.

And then a thought came to him: Why not have it surgically removed?

''I told Pat, 'You know what? I want to do this. And she said, 'Go for it.'''

So last January, Chuck became part of the growing number of husbands who join their spouses in having a little work done, a trend that reflects both society's growing acceptance of plastic surgery and the fact that more men are apparently deciding it's OK to fool with Mother Nature.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there has been a 16 percent increase in men who opt to undergo cosmetic procedures since 2000, everything from face-lifts to nonsurgical chemical peels to Botox to liposuction.

A sizable chunk -- no one knows the precise number -- represents couples who decide to go under the knife together.

The motivations of these men vary, say experts. In a twist on the old trophy wife trope, some husbands decide it behooves them to keep up with their cosmetically rejuvenated wives -- who wants to look tired and sagging next to a surgically improved spouse? Some want to look younger to hone a competitive edge in a ruthlessly youth-oriented marketplace.

Some just want the boost in confidence that comes with banishing love handles, turkey necks and spare tires.

Overall, the growth in male cosmetic surgery may simply be a manifestation of the fact that human beings are living longer, and want to look good on the golf course or cruise ship.

Cultural forces also drive the trend in making plastic surgery non-gender-specific. A raft of reality TV shows that show before-and-after plastic surgery makeovers have served to reduce the stigma once associated with cosmetic enhancement and has driven it into the mainstream, say experts.

Add to that an encouraging wife and you've got a guy ready to tighten up.

''The wife will come in and get a face-lift and the husband will go, 'Wow, that looks good. I want to take care of my neck,''' says Dr. Peter Ledoux, who performed Chuck's liposuction. ''The wife always goes first. The men are chicken. At least it's that way in my practice.''