Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

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.

All year people watch their figures, by eating healthy, and exercising. Then the Christmas season comes along and they do a little bingeing. It’s hard to resist grandma’s Christmas cookies or that special pumpkin pie that mom brings over. This seasonal overeating is enough to send people rushing to the surgeons office for a tummy tuck.

Mark Norfolk is the Clinical Services Director of the Transform Cosmetic Group, in Wakefield, United Kingdom. Due to this position he is uniquely able to give opinions about motives for plastic surgery as well as current trends. On average people gain about six pounds over the Christmas season, but experts say that this year the average weight gain has nearly doubled. Mark told the Sun, “We always see a rush for
weight loss surgery at Christmas, but this year’s been exceptional.” He reported that many women blame the recession for their weight gain. He said, “They’ve let go over Christmas, bingeing on food and booze and are feeling the consequences.”

The number of appointments for invasive weight loss plastic surgery procedures has risen 57 percent compared to last year. These procedures include abdominoplasty (tummy tucks) which involves a manual tightening of the abdominal muscles and removal of excess skin. This procedure slims and contours the abdomen for a very appealing look. Another procedure that is in high demand, to handle the Christmas binge flab, is liposuction. Liposuction is a process where fat cells are actually pulled out of problem areas.

Gastric bands, bariatric surgeries, are also popular as weight loss surgeries. These bands are clamped on the stomach to reduce the amount of food that a person is able to consume. These surgeries allow for a large amount of weight loss and thus are meant for people who are clinically obese. After losing substantial weight with this surgery, many people opt to have additional procedures to finish the sculpting of their body.

Plastic surgery has increased in popularity each year and 2010 will not be an exception. The extensive media coverage of cosmetic procedures has brought knowledge of their benefits to a wider range of people in society. As the procedures become more mainstream and more surgeons are available, the price of the procedures gradually becomes less. Even the recession has not been able to stop the growth of the plastic surgery market. In fact Patrick Mallucci, a member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, told the Guardian, “What has been surprising for me is that it is very busy during a time of supposed recession.”

Many more people are now undergoing dramatic weight-loss programs, perhaps inspired by celebrities such as designer Karl Lagerfeld, in order to achieve their dream bodies.

Many people find that, even after they have exercises and starved their way into those size 0 jeans, they aren’t left with a body which they would proudly display in a bikini. This is because, as we lose weight, the skin loses its elasticity, having stretched around all the excess weight for years, and often hangs down in unsightly pouches once the weight has gone. This leads many dieters to turn to tummy-tucks to finish of the job which weight-loss started.

Many natural dieters, as well as those fitted with gastric bands, are turning to abdominoplasty to take that final step towards physical perfection.  “Weight fluctuations affect the distribution of fat and the elasticity of the skin, especially in areas like the hips, flanks, and buttocks.” commented Dr. Grant Stevens, a Los Angeles-based cosmetic surgeon.  This means that tummy tucks are now being added to a healthy diet and regular exercise as the integral parts of achieving a celebrity-beating body.  It’s not just tummy tucks which are available either; liposuction and body-lift procedures can also help eradicate the disfiguring scars of an overweight or obese past.  We lose weight to make a fresh start, to begin afresh and take on life; we don’t want to be shackled down with constant, unsightly reminders of the past!

This is clearly a feeling which is prevalent amongst many cosmetic surgery patients, and in particular amongst men, with the latter investing in tummy tucks 30% more than women did in 2008. This is an astonishing figure and one which proves that the country has well and truly been overrun by the notion of metrosexuality. It is no longer just women who are pressured to look a certain way, now men are going under the knife in an attempt to live up to the billboards and models which surround us every day. Some companies even offer pec and six-pac implants for the lazier man to get fit in a hurry. Joking aside, tummy tucks do offer a major boost in confidence, not just for dieters, but also for those who have gone through the joyous process of pregnancy but who have come out the other side with depleted confidence. Such negativity can now be cut away!