Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

Avid readers of this blog, and I know there are lots of you, will no doubt remember a story we reported a little while ago about a new breakthrough which could drastically reduce the amount of post-op bruising which plastic and cosmetic surgery patients have to endure.  Well more news has reached us which we feel we have to share with you or, really, we just wouldn’t be doing our jobs right would we? 

Well the Vbeam laser has now undergone a second medical test and, excitingly, it has been declared that it could help to reduce bruising by an average of 63%. This news will be widely welcomed by the cosmetic surgery industry as it will mean that, if faced with shorter recovery times, more and more people may decide to go under the knife.

The new study, wonderfully titled ‘A Simple Solution to a Common Problem’, has concluded that if the treatment is done for 24 hours after a surgical procedure, then the prior-mentioned reduction of 62% is achievable.  Dr. Edwin F Williams, one of the leaders of the study, has spoken out saying that:
“[With] just one treatment with the VBeam, our patients experience dramatic clearance of the injured blood vessels. We are excited to finally be able to offer our patients a safe and easy treatment of bruising that works.” This is a huge breakthrough as, after a surgery, many of us want to get straight out there and start showing off our new look or, more importantly in this current climate, need to get back to work in order to ensure that our employment is safe and secure. Lots of bruising, whilst not being aesthetically pleasing, can also be incredibly painful and debilitating and thus it will be hoped that this Vbeam will hopefully be rolled out soon and become available to the wider public.

The company behind the innovation, the Candela Corporation, was founded in Boston (the American one) in the 1970’s and is a manufacturer of a lot of technology used by surgeons and physicians.  This latest innovation will no-doubt bring them in lots of money but, more important than this, it will also help out patients and this is clearly the most important thing for the cosmetic surgery industry. If more people can have quicker recovery times then more people may well decide to go under the knife and thus the cosmetic surgery industry will keep on growing.

Stereotypically, it was always women who went under the knife and had surgeries to improve their looks. However, over the last 20 years, beginning that now legendary Levi’s laundrette advert, the rise of male image-consciousness and themetrosexual has led to a surge in men wanting to go under the knife. 

Whilst “moobs” have long been the scourge of the male population, there are now new complaints which are also creeping up the surgery-popularity list. Male jowels are one of the most common problems amongst men and, perhaps spurred on by modern advertisements and popular culture, male love handles are also one of the embarrassments which men are going under the knife to try and get rid of. 

According to the latest news though, it’s not simply bad diets which are forcing more men to go under the knife, its increased stress-levels and longer working days which mean they have less time to take care of themselves than they perhaps previously used to.  The four main career areas which see most men going under the knife are the banking and city professions, the civil service, the political arena and the professional services such as legal and accountancy jobs. These are all demanding, stressful jobs to be doing and thus perhaps that is the reason why more of them turn to surgery than do their male counterparts who are in other professions. Of course, there is also the point to be made that, in all those professions, youthful vigour and good looks are a key part of rising to the top and thus this is undoubtedly another reason behind so many of the men undergoing surgery. 

Mr. Fratti, a surgeon with the Harvey Medical Group who carried out the new research, has said that: The bad diets, punishing hours and stress that often go hand in hand with these types of professions make men prime candidates for premature aging.  We’re not surprised to a trend emerge for professions most likely to opt for surgery as the side-effects of a punishing job can cause the loss of skin elasticity and encourage build up of stubborn fat in key areas.”

Clearly some of these men should switch to a much more relaxing occupation such as copy-writing!  It’s not just sculpting bodies which men seem to be obsessed with, so called boytox, Botox for men, has increased as well. Surgery is no longer just a woman’s place!

A new non-invasive procedure has been launched in Canada which looks set to shake the foundations of the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry. 

It claims to offer long-lasting results with minimal maintenance; as well as smoothing wrinkles it is also designed to plump up fallen skin which has lost its volume due to illness or the natural detrimental effects of the ageing process.

Known as Sculptra, the new kid on the block is said to work progressively by naturally stimulating the body to produce its own collagen (rather than simply injecting the collagen in as many non-invasive surgical procedures do). Three treatments over a two or three month period should, according to the company’s own press release, result in a natural and youthful look which could well be much more subtle than some of the treatments which are already on the market.  The director of the Toronto Cosmetic Skin Surgery Centre, Dr. Sheldon Pollack, has spoken out about the innovation, saying that: “The arrival of Sculptra is great news because it represents a unique niche in facial rejuvenation that yields smoother, longer-lasting results. “Sculptra has been used in the cosmetic dermatology field since 1999 in more than 30 countries. It’s a safe, long-lasting, non-surgical option for Canadians aged 40+ wanting to significantly reverse the effects of aging by several years.”
There are warnings of possible side-effects from the treatment but these are no different to the ones which are warned about when undergoing most procedures. At the site of the injections, there could be bruising, swelling, redness or mild discomfort and, of course, bleeding as the skin itself is being pierced by the needle. However, these are relatively minor side-effects on the road to a much more confident and younger-looking face.  Small papules may also develop around the area of treatment, especially in an over concentrated area, but these are often only visible if pressure is applied to the skin.

The anti-ageing non invasive treatment area of the surgery world is one of the biggest and, with the growth of new and innovative techniques such as this one; it is likely to keep on growing. As results become more natural, and the stigma around having surgery subsides, many more people are likely to take the plunge into looking younger. Would-be patients in Canada will certainly be excited by this news and the industry may see a profit boost as a result.

New research which has recently been revealed to the world is forcing plastic and cosmetic surgeons to throw out their old assumptions on how the human face ages and thus what the best types of treatments to fight back can be. 

Apparently, our face are made up of different fat compartments and these different compartments individually change with age and so how we are affected by the ageing process and which parts of our bodies are affected depends on how each of these fat compartments changes over time. Wow, you really do learn something new every day!

The lead author of the study which has revealed this new information, Dr. Joel Pessa, has spoken out about the new findings, saying that: “Contrary to popular belief, the human face does not age uniformly. We thought facial fat was one confluent mass that eventually got weighed down by gravity, creating sagging skin. However, we were shocked to find not only is the face made up of individual fat compartments but these compartments gain and lose fat at different rates.” Thus, all our old assumptions about how to keep our faces looking young and gravity-defying have to be completely reconsidered.  What the study does mean, at a base level for people like you and me who might be considering facial surgery is that certain areas which cause us trouble can now be pinpointed and treated more directly.  Injectable fillers will be able to be used on specific compartments of fat on the face and thus a more natural and effective way of fighting back against the ageing process will be achieved. This will be greeted well on both sides of the Atlantic, as the non-invasive surgery business is one of the biggest sections of the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry.  “This discovery will undoubtedly play a role in how we view aging and how we approach facial reconstructive plastic surgery.” confirmed Dr. Pessa.

The study could have further reaching consequences as well, with reports saying that it could even have reconstructive benefits for cancer or trauma patients. Facial disfigurements such as cleft lips may also be able to be approached differently. It would seem this breakthrough is going to be used in many different areas of surgery and will ultimately benefit and enormous number of people. In the near future though, it will help to fight back against the ageing process.

The boom in cheap flights and the shrinking of the world due to globalisation has led to a phenomenal increase in the number of so called surgery-tourists over the past decade; people going abroad in order to get cheaper surgeries and combining their makeovers with luxurious holidays.

It all sounds so wonderful but, occasionally, it can go wrong.  33% of surgeons, according to a recent study, said that they have seen an increase in the amount of repair work they have had to do over the last 5 years; that being work to repair botched or mishandled surgeries which had been performed abroad by unlicensed ‘surgeons’.

The report is full of similarly worrying statistics about the dangers of heading off abroad to undergo major surgery. 14% of surgeons polled said they had seen at least 9 patients who were needing to re-do surgery which has been performed abroad and a staggering 92% of surgeons who were questioned said that they were most concerned by the lack of aftercare which is provided to patients after they have had their surgeries. If you think about it logically, this is a pretty obvious concern; one cannot expect to receive good quality checkups and aftercare if the surgery is performed half-way around the world. Most reputable companies will offer regular check-ups in your home country but, again, this is something which you should look into before even considering surgery-tourism.  Douglas McGeorge, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, has spoken out after his organisation released these figures saying: “My experience with patients has shown that counselling is inadequate- the individuals have no idea of the standards of care in the country they are visiting and no knowledge of the abilities or experience of the surgeon. Follow-up is difficult. Complications do occur and are usually left to the British system to treat.”

This is indeed a worrying trend and re-enforces that having surgery in Britain, whilst perhaps a little more expensive, means that you are always near experts and are getting the best of the world-class treatment available in this country. The top three concerns which surgeons seemed to have about surgery-tourism were the language barriers which people could encounter (how can you have a full understanding of what will happen if you can’t speak the language?) and the quality of aftercare and overall quality of the medical systems in some countries.

We have always known that the U.S was the epicentre of the plastic and cosmetic surgery industries. Home to Hollywood, a country where everything is bigger and done on a much grander scale, America has now been revealed to be the place where plastic surgery is king.

New figures have shown that, in the year of 2008, a staggering 10 million procedures were performed on patients!  This is a stunning figure and is really testament to the wonderful work which plastic and cosmetic surgeons are doing up and down the country but also shows how much the industry has grown in recent years. Who knows what the 2009 figure will look like; well whatever it looks like, we assume the figure will be trim and toned!

The American Society for Aesthetic  Plastic Surgery is the body behind these exciting figures and they have also released some other numbers for us to sink our perfectly-veneered teeth into as well. Liposuction had long been the most popular surgery amongst women in the United States of America but this is no longer the case. It was beaten to the top spot in 2008 by breast augmentation surgeries which now have the esteemed accolade of being the most popular surgery amongst women.  Liposuction had to make do with second place; this marks an interesting shift in the types of treatments which patients are undergoing- perhaps having already attained good figures via liposuction they are now turning to the perfect pair of breasts as well.  The race was still quite tight though, so 2009 could see a photo-finish between the two surgeries as liposuction and breast augmentations fight it out for the top spot. The figures show that 355,671 breast augmentations were performed in the U.S in 2008, whilst the figure stands at 309,692 for liposuction procedures.  What these figures also prove is that a huge number of other surgeries, more than nine million, are taking place and that these must thus be spread over a huge number of varied procedures.

It’s not all bad news for liposuction though; it did stay the top procedure amongst men, with over 31,000 procedures being performed. Breast augmentations, however, remain the most popular surgery in Britain as well: there was a 30% rise in the number of them done in Britain in 2008! So it seems on both sides of the Atlantic that surgery is most definitely in!

Permanent Cosmetic Fillers, rather than their semi-permanent siblings, could lead to more complications according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. 

It has been revealed that 38.5% of surgeons saw between 1 and 3 patients who experienced problems from permanent facial fillers whereas 81% reported that they didn’t see any complications with the non-permanent fillers such as collagen.  Normally non-invasive and semi permanent procedures are used as a stop-gap solution, or as a try-before-you-commit way of seeing what the results from more permanent procedures may be like. Treatments such as Botox are amongst the most popular in Britain and this news that there may well be more complications with permanent procedures will not be welcomed by patients or the industry.

A couple of key figures in the U.S Cosmetic Surgery industry have spoken out about this news.  Practising surgeon from Chicago, Julius Few has said that: “Permanent fillers present challenges, particularly for inexperienced injectors,” (this comment further reinforcing the fact that you should always go with a competent and experienced doctor for your surgery), before going on to say:
“In addition to potential complications that may develop years after injection, the challenge of a permanent, synthetic filler is the anticipation of aging changes and the need for outcomes that will not look unnatural over time. To date, fat continues to be the option closest to a permanent filler with a proven safety record.”

Roger Dailey, a practicing surgeon from Oregon, has also spoken about fillers, saying that:”Permanent fillers are very different than temporary dermal fillers, because the results from temporary fillers do diminish over time. Temporary fillers can then be placed in subsequent years in a customized fashion to adjust for the changes that occur with age in the surrounding untreated areas.” So it would seem that the choice really is between a procedure which carries more long-term benefits but higher risks or a semi-permanent solution which may be safer but one which involves having many more procedures over a long period of time.

Permanent and semi-permanent procedures are still the best way of fighting back against the ageing process and, as long as you ensure you are with a high-class and respected surgeon, then you should have very little to worry about. Of course there are risks with any surgery and you have to simply weigh these up against the benefits you hope to see.

If you asked any normal person, not plastic surgery readers like you avid readers of this blog, what the most well-known form of plastic surgery was then, after boob-jobs, tummy-tucks would likely be second on that list.

Because of the numbers dreaming of achieving that sought-after, perfect celebrity body, tummy tucks have rocketed in popularity over recent years; there are even rumours that some women have them immediately after having caesareans in order to immediately regain their figure! Clearly the latter is not something which should be condoned but, in normal circumstances, tummy tucks can really change your life. One good example to bring a human-story element to this is Kate Gosselin’s.

If you’ve not come across her before, Gosselin is the star of a controversial U.S series which shows her and her husband’s struggle to bring up their eight children; sextuplets and twins.  She has recently been spotted flaunting her abs on the world-famous beaches of North Carolina. The busy mother and reality T.V star famously (well, famously if you’re a fan of the television program) underwent a tummy tuck in 2006 in a last-ditch attempt to get back the figure which being the proud mother of so many children had sadly lost. Famous pictures of her in a black bikini flaunting her post-op body in Bald Head Island (perhaps a place which could do with a hair transplant?) heightened media interest in her and her children and now new images of the success of her surgery is likely to do the same. Perhaps many within the cosmetic and plastic surgery industries will be hoping that many more women, once their children have got a bit older, will be tempted to get their pre-pregnancy bodies back as well.  Whilst pregnancy and childbirth are amongst the most magical times of a woman’s life, many women long to get their trim bodies back and often, because of the stretching of the skin which occurs during pregnancy, surgery is the only way to achieve such goals.

It is reported that about 3,300 women had tummy tuck’s in the U.K in just the last year alone and thus it is clear that they are massive business and that it’s a business which is only going to get firmer and healthier as the years go on. Many women, once they’ve raised their children want their bodies and their lives back! Surgery makes this a reality.

There are many different ways that you can tell summer is here. Hayfever comes back with a vengeance, the wafting smells of barbeques seem to be in the air every time you want to hang the washing out and, of course, Big Brother returns to our screens for yet another year on wannabe-celebrity action. 

Plastic and Cosmetic surgery enthusiasts will have noticed that it’s not just the personalities which are fake in this year’s series; there’s an awful lot of plastic surgery been going on as well. When they’ve not been plotting or hurling abuse at each other, the housemates have actually found time in their busy schedules to discuss plastic surgery.

Two of the housemates, Freddie Fisher and Sophie Reade have been killing some of their spare time by discussing the times that they have gone under the knife.  Both have had successes with the stories and the producers of the program might have been disappointed to find that there were no horror stories which might have helped boost the ratings.  Freddie revealed that he’d had a nose-job, or rhinoplasty as you all know it’s called within the industry, which he described as “nice”.  His fellow housemate Sophie has also admitted to surgery, which she did before actually entering the house, saying that she had undergone breast enlargement and augmentation surgery. Sophie is one of two glamour models within the house and the series has so far seen a battle for attention between the two girls.  Surgery professionals may well be hoping that, with stories of success being broadcast on national television, that more people may well decide to have surgery. Plastic or Cosmetic surgery has long been used in the world of celebrity, or indeed by the world of people attempting to make themselves celebrities, as a way of enhancing or beginning a media career.

Breast augmentation surgery and rhinoplasty are two of the most popular invasive surgeries on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s not only popular with the wanabees, but also with regular people who simply want to boost their confidence and start to enjoy their life a lot more.  With this series of Big Brother only just getting under way, we may well be treated to more discussions of plastic surgery in the coming weeks but don’t worry, if you really can’t bring yourself to watch the whole thing just keep checking back here for updates.

As regular readers of this blog will know, the boundaries of cosmetic surgery are constantly being challenged and new procedures, techniques and inventions are emerging all the time and the industry is able to offer a much higher level of care and end results than it could a decade ago. 

We’ve seen new advances in laser treatments, new types of implants and even a drastic reduction in bruising and recovery times for some procedures. Well now there is another new advance to bring to your attention, this one being in the field of facelifts.

In the past, the traditional way of performing a facelift would be to “re-drape” the skin over the face in order to improve tightness, but this method is now used very rarely.  Advancements and new discoveries mean that surgeons now have a much more nuanced understanding of how the face is made up and, more importantly, how it ages and what changes the ageing process inflicts upon us.  Shorter scars and much more natural and balanced results are just a couple of the welcome side-effects of such advances. In the past, we might have joked that people who’ve had facelifts are easily identifiable but this is now not the case at all. The huge number of have-they/haven’t they stories in gossip weekly’s is testament to the fact that it is getting harder to determine who has or hasn’t had work done.

One of the main advances is that a procedure known as lipostructure has now become an integral part of the facelift procedure. Replacing the old “re-drape” notion, lipostructure involves removing fat from an area of a patient’s body and then using said fat to replace tissue which has lost its plumpness.  Areas where this can be useful can be sagging cheeks or tired-looking eyes and the overall effect is to create a much younger-looking, much more alert face.  The ability to provide youthful results without the re-draping technique means that facelifts are now looking a lot more natural. It is hoped that such an advance will tempt even more people to the ever-popular procedure. Some people still opt for non-permanent procedures, such as Botox or laser treatments as they are scared of the aesthetic results of a facelift. Advances such as this, and the ones which will no doubt come in the future, should go some way to allaying these fears.