Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

Once considered a part of the female sphere, with the words ‘plastic surgery’ bringing to mind a plethora of celebrity boob and nose jobs, cosmetic surgery is fast becoming an integral part of the male domain too. Indeed, BAAPS (the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) has found that between 2010 and 2011, the number of cosmetic procedures undergone by men increased by 5.6 percent—a rate only marginally slower than that for women’s surgery, which was 5.8 percent.

Popular types of male surgery

Gynaecomastia operations (the reduction of breast tissue in men), liposuction and tummy tucks are among the most increasingly popular types of cosmetic surgery for men in the UK, each rising  at a rate between seven and 15 per cent. According to the current President of BAAPS, Fazel Fatah, this should come as no surprise in light of the heightened demand for surgical treatment of obesity, which has resulted in a rising number of gastric bands in men. Procedures such as this (as well as other, non-surgical methods of losing weight) can result in loose, excess skin where fat has been removed, consequently leading to the rise in demand for tummy tucks.

Why do more women than men get tummy tucks?

Tummy tucks (the colloquial term for abdominoplasty) is the process by which excess fat and skin is removed from the stomach area, giving the appearance of a firmer abdomen. In 2011, BAAPS recorded 124 male tummy tucks in contrast with a staggering 3251 in women. However, the disparity between these numbers is easily explained. For men, the chief reason for getting a tummy tuck is following major weight loss, via either a gastric band or non-surgical methods such as exercise. The tummy tuck gives the man a more toned stomach than would be achieved solely with the gastric band. For women, however, pregnancy is another key cause of loose skin around the stomach area. Following giving birth, many women restore their body confidence with a tummy tuck that firms up the abdomen.

The rise of male tummy tucks

Last year in the UK, not a single area of cosmetic surgery decreased in popularity. Overall, the number of procedures performed by BAAPS members increased by 5.8 per cent, with male tummy tucks increasing by a considerable 15 per cent. This may be surprising in the current economic climate, but the nation’s intensifying scrutiny of its health, as well as the safety of certain cosmetic procedures, may go some way to explaining this increase.

Cosmetic surgery has grown quickly in popularity. With society’s increasing acceptance, of people who have undergone plastic surgery, the number of procedures performed continues to multiply. Women can get breast augmentations, liposuction, and face-lifts. But what has been surprising, is the increasing number of procedures that men are undergoing. In fact according to The Hospital Group, one of UK’s leading providers of cosmetic surgery and obesity surgery, the number of tummy tuck procedures performed on men has increased by 60 percent in the last five years.

Many men, who have lost a substantial amount of weight, find that if they want to look good they will need to have a procedure done to remove the excess skin. A spokesperson for The Hospital Group, said: “Men often opt to have a tummy tuck if they have had substantial weight-loss and are left with sagging skin around the abdomen. We have seen an increase in men having obesity surgery which could have had a knock-on effect.” Tummy tucks, also know as abdominoplasty, can improve the look of the stomach drastically. The procedure is performed by tightening the abdominal muscles and removing excess skin. The remaining skin is then pulled tight and secured. This will create a tighter and firmer abdomen.

As reported in Surgery Lowdown-Cosmetic Surgery Advice, John Wright form Lincolnshire had a tummy tuck operation and breast reduction after loosing 22 stone. He said, :After the immense effort and hard work of losing so much weight it was utterly soul destroying to see vast folds of skin hanging from my body…….. I used almost ,10,000 of my savings but I think it was worth every penny.” Many testimonials from men who have had a tummy tuck are the same as Mr. Wright’s. The result of a tummy tuck make many men feel like they are a whole new person.

There has been a substantial increase in plastic surgeries performed on men in the last few years. According to Mr. Rajiv Grover, Secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, “This year [2009] we have recorded a dramatic rise in a number of male surgical procedures, probably due to heightened media attention, which has allowed men to realise the positive outcomes that can be achieved.” Men have begun to put a greater emphasis on their own appearances and thus the increase in cosmetic procedures performed on men is merely a logical extension of this.

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.