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.

In a recent study, it has been found that if you take each one of your meals, and blend them into a soup, it will help to stave off hunger. All you need to do is take the same portion of food for each meal, put a little water in it, and blend it all together. What this does is keeps your stomach full longer and takes more time to digest. This way, it will reduce your hunger in between meals, resulting in less snacking as well as eating less.

This is one of the 10 Things You Need to Know about Losing Weight, according to a recent BBC programme. They are:

• Put restrictions on what types of food you eat, so you eat less
• Eat at regular intervals, don’t leave out a meal
• Eating low fat dairy foods help you to eliminate more fat
• When eating, use a smaller plate
• Exercise because your body will burn fat, even while sleeping
• Be sure to count how many calories you are taking in
• Don’t use your metabolism as an excuse
• Keep moving and you will lose more weight
• Eating soups keeps you feeling fuller, longer
• Higher levels of protein in your diet will keep hunger at bay

If you have looked into weight loss surgery, you know that once the procedure is done that you will only be able to handle a liquid diet. This allows the body to heal, but given these new facts, it will also keep you fuller longer. If you were still stuck on the dieting roller coaster, then perhaps bariatric surgery would be the best solution.

Although dieting will help you to lose a few pounds, many people still struggle with their weight because of the vicious cycle of dieting. If you do not lose as much weight as you want, or are having difficulty losing any weight at all, many find themselves depressed because of it. This, in turn, causes stress eating and binging.

Bariatric surgery is a permanent solution to the weight loss roller coaster. It can help you to live a more full and active life. Although any kind of weight loss surgery is not easy, it can and does help many people change their lives.

Every surgical treatment available has its own risks, no matter where you look. Weight loss surgery has gained media attention for the risks and side effects, but mostly the risks. One type of surgery is however, getting positive attention for being the least risky to undergo and just as effective. This is because the lap band is adjustable, removable, and doesn’t make irreversible changes inside the body and with organ tissue.

Dr. Michael Feiz M.D. is based in Beverly Hills and has safely performed a number of surgeries for the Lap Band. There is a great deal of success with giving patients permanent results without permanent modification to the inner organs. Dr. Feiz and his associate Dr. Misra have performed over 2,000 Lap Band surgeries without death and without infection or perforation.

Pre-op preparing requires a great deal of lifestyle changes and psychological changes. It is important that all potential patients undergo a few tests on their mental state to ensure they are a good person to get the surgery done on. Dr. Feiz says that patients should consider a number of things before taking the surgery on.

1. Changing your lifestyle is crucial to the success of the surgery. Healthy eating and exercise are a must if you plan to get the Lap Band. Without having this as part of your plan you will not be successful with the surgery. Weight loss does not happen overnight.

2. Choosing a surgeon that is qualified to perform the surgery is also a must. Patients need to know that their surgeon is certified, and has a good amount of surgeries under his sleeve. Without this patients put themselves at risk for perforation, infection, and other irreparable damages.

3. Look for a surgeon that provides a multidisciplinary approach to your treatment. You do not want to just get the surgery and be left alone. You need consultations, dieticians, and specialists that can help you on all levels of your journey. Weight loss surgery goes beyond the initial procedure and definitely requires lifestyle changes.

4. Being able to see your surgeon after the procedure is done is imperative to your healing and lifestyle. Being offered life long treatment is important, so that you can be involved in support groups, nutrition classes, and other programs under the surgeons recommendations for you.

A post surgery survey carried out among 176 male and female patients who have undergone laparoscopic gastric banding surgery (LGB) found that there are distinct differences between the genders with regards to sexual and urinary functions as a result of the surgery. The survey is conducted among a group 142 women and 34 men at a single centre in Newcastle, Australia who have undergone LGB surgery, a weight loss surgery where a band is surgically placed around the top part of the stomach.

The survey charted the post surgery recovery among the sample group of patients. It found that women generally experienced marked progresses in both their urinary and sexual functions after the surgery unlike men, who not only did not achieve better urinary functions but experienced a general decline in their erectile functions.

Both urinary and sexual functions are tested because they are the primary problems often encountered by obese patients. All 176 patients have had LGB surgery in the last 10 years, together charting an average post-surgery timeframe of not more than 32 months.

“Of the 176 patients, 65 per cent of the female patients and 24 per cent of the male patients have existing problems with bladder or bowel control prior to the surgery while 83 per cent of the male patients have erectile complications,” said Dr Weranja Ranasinghe from the Department of Urology at Austin Hospital in Melbourne.

Obesity is a major disease affecting more than 400 million people in the world and sucking up millions in healthcare bills throughout the world. In Australia, 68 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women are considered overweight or obese in 2008.

“Obesity has to be curbed as it can lead to life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. LGB surgery has become an increasingly popular weight loss surgical procedure for very obese patients. However, many surgeons are still hesitant to adopt surgery for weight loss unless other measures such as dieting and exercise are no longer effective,” said Dr Ranasinghe.

The effectiveness of LGB surgery varies according to gender. After the surgery, female patients in the survey found that their urinary functions have improved. However they still encountered difficulty in controlling their bowel or bladder. Men, on the other hand did not experience similar progress in urinary functions as their female counterparts. In fact, many found that their erectile and sexual conditions have worsened after the surgery.

Despite the fact that LGB surgery has proven to be effective in enhancing urinary functions in women in addition to lowering obesity-related risks such as heart disease and diabetes, further investigation on its effectiveness is still required to ensure that the procedure can produce long-term benefits and enhance the quality of life for both men and women alike.

Bariatric surgery has been touted as a cure for diabetes mellitus in persons with morbid obesity. Experts say that this is related to the weight loss that follows surgery. People with morbid obesity are dangerously overweight and develop diabetes as a complication. Bariatric surgery is a common procedure done to help these morbidly obese people to lose weight and reduce blood sugar.

Obesity is a key cause of diabetes. This condition occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce adequate insulin to reduce glucose in the blood. In morbid obesity, a variety of factors lead to inadequate production of insulin and increased blood sugar. Following bariatric surgery, reduced food intake and the subsequent weight loss allows the pancreas to adequately deal with lower levels of blood glucose, As a result, the diabetes disappears.

According to Dr. P.K. Reddy, Head of the Bariatric Surgery Department at Apollo Hospital, bariatric surgery is done by either of two methods – gastric banding or gastric bypass. Gastric banding is achieved by placing an inflatable silicone device around the upper portion of the stomach. In gastric bypass surgery, all or part of the stomach is removed and the remaining portion directly attached to the small intestine. Both procedures reduce stomach size, volume of food intake and produce quick weight loss.

One of Dr. Reddy’s patients shared his “life changing experience” after bariatric surgery. He weighed 163 kgs before surgery and also had diabetes, hypertension and gout. Ten months after his surgical procedure, he weighed 90 kgs and said that his diabetes, hypertension and gout have disappeared completely. Dr. Torsten Olbers, Senior Consultant with Imperial College in London, confirmed that patients experience relief from diabetes within weeks of having bariatric surgery.

Abeezar Sarela, Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the University of Leeds also explained that there is well documented evidence which shows that diabetes begins to resolve even before the patient begins to lose weight. He also reported that in one case, one of his patients reduced his insulin intake from an excessive 500 units per day to none at all. Dr. Sarela concluded by adding that the body becomes magically more sensitive to insulin during surgery and that further research was needed on this exciting phenomenon.

The founder of the New Obesity Campaign in the UK is urging people who are looking to lose weight to first try the free weight loss programs, before using dangerous surgeries to loose weight.

The campaign was created to help educate people as well as motivate them to loose weight and teach them how to loose the weight and create a healthy lifestyle. The campaign works to help people develop healthy eating habits and begin living an active lifestyle in the UK.

Membership to the New Obesity Campaign is free to anyone who wants to join. Participants can create their own plans to loose the weight they want to loose, they will receive tips on how to loose weight effectively and safely, there are messages they will receive to keep participants active, motivated and focused, there are stay slim tips and tricks from celebrities they can receive and read about and the entire program costs nothing to join and participate in.

A celebrity trainer, named Subodh Gupta feels that there are numerous problems when weight loss surgery is completed. These can include bleeding, infections, leaking and abscesses that develop, as well as throwing up, the narrowing of the area between the stomach and small bowels and ulcerations that can occur in these areas too. This is typical when gastric bypass surgery is completed. He noted that since weight loss can be achieved through natural means there is no reason to put one’s self at risk with weight loss surgeries. He continued that people can loose weight by being disciplined and committing to changing. Since nutritional plans and vitamins are needed after weight loss surgery is done, this may as well be completed in the first place and avoid surgery all together.

Lastly, he explained the cost of weight loss surgery is expensive, ranging in price from £5,500 to £15,000. This cost hurts the NHS and the UK economy. Also, that loosing weight naturally is safe. There are reasons why a person is gaining weight, usually because of poor eating habits and being inactive. Doing something now means loosing the weight naturally and permanently.

Not so long ago, before stomach stapling, gastric bands, and the amazing wonders of bariatric medicine was still termed a loony dream by most doctors, dieters had to gradually slim the hard way, while employing many sweaty hours of vigorous exercise to sculpt their bodily proportions.

Yes, the very thing that makes stomach stapling so appealing, namely amazingly rapid weight loss, produces the side effect of a very troubling amount of left over, stretched-out skin. Without the natural, agonisingly slow process of gradual weight loss and toning of the muscles, the skin doesn’t have a chance to shrink into size.

So, some 7k pound thinner in the bank account, the post-op Thinny looks something like a depressed Shar-pei. What on earth should she do? Well, there is ANOTHER operation, which will uplift the breasts and arms. There is also an ANOTHER operation that is optimistically called the “Lower Body Lift”, that nips in the thighs, buttocks, and waist. Another 7k for the upper lift and a slightly more dear 13k operation for the lower half; in total, Thinny has had to pay twenty seven thousand pounds.

No chance the NHS can pick up the bill? Thinny remembers the hearty laughter when she asked that question about the FIRST operation. Now she is really depressed, but she’s pursued the dream this far; she’s got to see it through to the bloody end.

Shar-pei Skinny is dead, long live Slim Thinny! However, poor Thinny must look some home truths square in the eye. A whole new wardrobe is a huge investment. Let’s not forget bras and knickers! Feet also lose weight, so all new shoes are in order.

Specially formulated protein “shakes” she must drink to maintain her figure cost the moon but taste like they were invented in some POW camp. She’ll need a subscription to a health club, for exercising rain or shine. They say that exercise released endorphins; Thinny’s still waiting.

Nearly forgot; there will be no more chocolates, sweets, cokes, or beer, ever. Thinny can’t maintain her figure that way. No endorphins for her. Being thin is supposed to be compensation enough…

Now Thinny is in counseling to discover why she’s not deliriously happy. Maybe some pills will help the situation.

What is the total cost of going from fat to thin? Perhaps someone good at maths would like to have a go at working that one out.

Chocolate, anyone?

Since there has been a boost in funding for the NHS, there will be more people that will be able to have weight loss surgery, to conquer the ever growing problem with obesity. Surgeries such as gastric bypass surgery is expected to double this year alone. With additional funding, the nation may see specialists dealing with morbid obesity, in such areas as Bridgend and Swansea.

However, Welsh patients have seen £520,000 on weight loss surgery in the past two years. Of these operations, most have taken place in Salford and Bristol. Through the Freedom of Information request, only 10% of patients referred for weight loss surgery that were from Wales actually received NHS funding in the last two years.

A prominent and leading bariatric surgeon has stated that he has had patients die, because the waiting list was long and he was never able to perform the surgery. Statistics by the WHSSC show that of 1,044 patients that have been referred to a clinic surgery, only 126 patients were approved. These numbers could also be lower because some patients would have been not physically and/or psychologically suitable to have the surgery.

The director of WHSSC’s specialized services department says that weight loss surgery is low on the priority list. This is in comparison to medical treatments, such as renal dialysis and cancer services that take priority. Which she says means that coverage for the morbidly obese is only for the most sever cases where patients had another medical conditions due to their obesity.

What this means is that people in Wales with a BMI of 50 or more are considered for operations. However, England considers patients with a BMI of 40 or more. The chairman of the National Obesity Forum Wales questions why the criteria for obese people is different between England and Wales. He asks why do people with a BMI of 40 or higher receive treatment in England, while a BMI of 50 or higher is needed in Wales. He states that Wales does not handle obesity properly and there is a high morbidly obese rate in Wales compared to the rest of the Western world.

The WHSSC is evaluating proposals from South Wales and hopes that new services will see at least 80 patients receive surgery at the Princess Of Wales Hospital, Bridgend in 12 months.

Weight is a big issue and people try diet after diet while spending a lot of money on dietary supplements each year. In many cases, they are unsuccessful with their weight loss goals. For those that have not had success with pills or diets, there are other options. Bypass surgery is one that can be very effective in obtaining weight loss goals. Bariatric surgery is extremely useful for those with a body mass index of 35 or higher, and who have been unsuccessful in obtaining long-lasting, weight loss. Candidates for this surgery can lesson or eliminate medical problems and risks with weight loss. There are many things a person should take into consideration before deciding to have this procedure. Once the patient has been educated on the subject they can consult their physician and together, they can decide which type of procedure is best for the patient.

The two most commonly-accepted ways for individuals to be successful with this type of surgery are Restrictive, adjustable gastric banding, or the Lap-Band, and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or gastric stapling. These procedures have the longest and most well-documented effectiveness and safety records. Either of these procedures can help the patient lose a significant amount of weight. Weight loss has many benefits to a person’s health.

When the stomach stretches it takes longer for a person to feel full and they eat more to satisfy their hunger. One way to help this craving is by having bypass surgery. The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is performed with a laparoscopic application that keeps invasion to a minimum, with complete stomach division. The stomach is divided making 90 per cent of the lower portion no longer in the digestive stream. A short section of the bowel is rerouted to bypass the 90 percent section of the divided stomach, and a section of the small bowel, just beyond the stomach.

The upper part of the stomach that connects to the oaesophagus only makes up about 10 per cent of the normal stomach volume. This section fills quickly with a small meal, and contains the stretch fibres that make a person feel full. The connection from the pouch to the bypass limb is tiny in order for a person to feel full longer while the food slowly passes through. Bypass surgery is very effective in weight loss and if anyone is considering bypass surgery, consult a physician to find out more.

According to recent figures, the FDA has been working aggressively to consider including teenagers from 14 to 17 in the list of individuals allowed to use gastric bands as a weight loss method.

At present, the minimum allowable age for gastric weight bands is 18 years old. Only those who are seriously obese are approved for the procedure. With new technology and increased success rates, only one percent of those having the surgery have died in the last few years since approval.

Obese adults whose bodies successfully accepted the lap bands are discovering improved health results and a renewed joy of life. Of course, after the lap band, for a required period, patients must adhere to stringent monitoring, follow requirements and guidelines provided.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published that lap band surgery successes were significant in a group of teens studied. The study also found that the group lost a high amount of weight from the lap bands than normally found when dieting or exercising. Of course, a healthy diet and exercise are recommended. However, the obese teen like any other obese individual needs additional help. 

The study was successful. The teens lost a whopping 76.2 pounds on average. This means that of the group, eighty four percent of those studied lost more than half the weight desired and recommended based on their height and age

According to senior lead, Dr Paul E Obrien, the study was considered to be “highly successful.” According to Professor Susan Sawyer who co authored the study, “Adolescents are as deserving as adults when it comes to accessing clinical interventions that work. Until we can find more successful behavioural and medical approaches to treat those with severe obesity, the results of the study unequivocally favour lap banding in terms of weight loss and therefore are really suggesting that it needs to be at least considered.”

Others spearheading the study, Sue Kimm, Debbie Lawlor and Hoan Han suggest nothing should be just tossed out there. Before surgery is used as a weight loss method, extreme causation must be taken and make sure all means of losing weight naturally are exhausted.

Even with the success of these findings, some still are very guarded in allowing surgery as a means of weight loss. The medical community is holding firm and not faltering when inundated by retailer before giving their stamp of approval on weight loss surgery.