Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

Self-esteem and self-confidence are not ageist. They do not discriminate and the old and young alike are subject to low levels of self-worth. Sometimes they are the result of physical aesthetic imperfections, and correcting these imperfections surgically used to be a luxury reserved only for adults who could afford the costly procedures. However, there is a recent trend in teenagers and young adults seeking medical interventions for their unhappiness.

In the United States, plastic surgery procedures on young people between thirteen and nineteen years old has been qualified as “mainstream” and the spokesperson for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Frederick Lukash, estimates that almost three hundred thousands teenagers went under the knife in 2008. Those numbers have only increased in the following years.  Essentially, teenagers are hoping that the procedures will “cure” whatever issues they are suffering from but they should be warned that it is unlikely. This idea typically plagues the psyches of young women in the midst of development. They are excessively exposed to unrealistic depictions of perfection and define their worth in terms in physical ideals. Moreover, in the never-ending quest for societal approval, these imperfections are magnified, appearing both intolerable yet easily resolved with a breast enhancement or a rhinoplasty.

Plastic surgery for teens is not always wrong. Dr. Lukash has seen many cases where a teenaged patient’s quality of life has improved exponentially because of a procedure. But he warns that surgery on a teenaged patient should be the exception, not the rule. He wrote “The Safe and Sane Guide to Teenage Plastic Surgery” to aid parents and potential patients about the risks and concerns of surgery. If a teenager is seriously considering plastic surgery, they should first talk to a therapist. Low self-esteem levels could be the result of underlying issues and the opinion of a therapist could be beneficial before putting oneself through a painful and expensive procedure with an undesirable result.

Furthermore, if a teenaged patient decides to go ahead with the procedure, it is of the utmost importance that they seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon. Doctors should not be concerned with the money that the patient represents, but with genuinely improving their quality of life. A consultation is a two-way interview and the surgeon should not be afraid to turn a patient away if their expectations are not manageable. There are always risks with any surgery and it is irresponsible to take on such a risk without proper research and the guidance of qualified and trusted medical professionals.

The number of plastic surgery procedures performed in 2009 hit record numbers. In fact the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) reported nearly a seven percent increase in surgical procedures over 2008. Besides the overall numbers of procedures performed there has also been an increasing number of cosmetic surgeries performed on men. Mr. Rajiv Grover, BAAPS Secretary, said, “This year we have recorded a dramatic rise in the number of male surgical procedures, probably due to heightened media attention, which has allowed men to realise the positive outcomes that can be achieved.” The BAAPS actually reported a 23% increase in procedures performed on men in 2009.

The Harley Medical Group also reported an impressive increase in procedures performed on men in 2009, seeing a 5 percent increase over 2008. Men actually accounted for 18 percent of all procedures performed by The Harley Medical Group. Most of the increase can be attributed to men opting for non surgical procedures such as ‘Boytox’ (male Botox and Sweatox).

Men’s busy lifestyles are indeed causing their skin to be at risk for premature wrinkles. Dr. Nick Milojevic is a Botox doctor, voted as the best for Botox in the Daily Express. Concerning men receiving Boytox he revealed, “Young men in the City have been spending a lot of time frowning over the last year and we’re seeing the fallout .. Men coming into the clinics are telling us that they want to stay looking wrinkle-free despite their demanding lifestyles.”

A report by the Dailey Mail reported that much of the increase in cosmetic procedures performed on men is attributed to City bankers spending their bonuses on Boytox. The City clinic saw huge growth once the banker bonuses returned to the agenda with a ’24 percent month by month sales increase in September alone’. Other non-surgical procedures that grew in 2009 were dermal fillers with a 26 percent increase and chemical peels with a 306 percent increase.

Jeremy Baker, Consumer Analyst at ESCP Europe Business School said, “There’s a huge emphasis on grooming in popular culture and the job market is tough – people need to be younger, fitter, and better and this is reflected in the maintenance of personal appearance. Men have now caught up with the times and don’t want to be left behind so I’m sure we’ll see big increases in this sector in particular.” Men have surely
become comfortable with beautifying themselves with cosmetic surgery.

Liposuction is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures for both men and women. Pockets of fat around the body are troublesome and very hard to get rid of. Liposuction has proved to be a cure for this for a lot people. Humarira Ansai, in a recent article for DNA, said that many people are using their wedding day as an excuse to finally have a liposuction procedure.

Liposuction is a surgical procedure in which fat cells are removed from the body. Fat cells are designed to store unused energy in the body and removing them is simple and easy. Traditional liposuction is performed using a cannula (hollow tube) and an aspirator (suction device). The cannula is inserted into the body, then it is pushed and pulled to loosen the fat cells. The fat is then sucked through the tool and out of the body.

There have been amazing advances in liposuction, and traditional liposuction is not the only procedure available. There are procedures which now use ultrasound to liquefy the fat cells and suck them out through smaller incisions. This procedure has been touted as the next generation in liposuction. There is also a procedure which uses radiofrequency assisted technology to liquefy the fat. This procedure has
an added benefit of tightening the surrounding skin at the same time.

According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons nearly one in ten surgeries performed in 2009 were liposuction procedures. There were a total of 3,509 Liposuction surgeries performed and men actually make up more than ten percent of these procedures. Mr. Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS Secretary responsible for the UK national audit of cosmetic surgery, said, “This year 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.”

The Plastic Surgery Channel, an online resource, said that those who are aware of the benefits of liposuction are not surprised that it is a very popular procedure. Liposuction has been shown to improve health which is a benefit that cannot be overlooked. Most doctors agree that weight loss is the best way to reduce the risk of heat disease, and diabetes. Of course, the most popular benefit is the improved appearance. Removing stubborn pockets of fat can slim and reshape the contours of a person’s body and give them a figure that they are proud of.

According to the Plastic Surgery Channel, people consider liposuction to be a ‘dream come true’. However, they went on to warn people that it is important to not enter into a decision to have a surgery with a ‘cavalier attitude’. The site advised people to research the procedure thoroughly and chose the right surgeon.

Divorce’s can be very trying times for people. Ending a marriage comes with a lot of stress because lives that were joined must be divided into two separate lives. One man believed that his ex-wife’s breast implants should have been included in the settlement.

It is hard to decide how to divide the marital assets, so a judge is usually involved. A judge in North Dakota found out that some people have some strange ideas, as to what should be considered a marital asset. Erik Isaacson claimed that his ex wife Traci’s boob job should have been added to the marital assets, to be divided. He said that the $5,500 (,3,376) breast implants were no different from the couple’s car, home, and La-Z-Boy recliners.

The South Central District of North Dakota family court judge, Judge Robert Wefald, was unsure of how he could possibly divide breast implants between the couple. He was reported as saying, “Absolutely nonsense. I can’t imagine people would actually waste time thinking that breast implants are marital assets. It just defies common sense. I don’t know how you would expect me to award breast implants, if you want me to have them cut out and given to Mr. Isaacson.” The case of Isaacson v. Isaacson was very ridiculous, however Erik and his attorney were very serious.

During the proceedings, Justice Daniel Crothers actually asked Erik’s attorney, “Do we have any lines to be drawn? Is hip replacement a marital asset?” In response, the attorney argued that breast implants were not a necessary procedure. He said that they were purely cosmetic and elective. His argument was basically, if Mr. Isaacson bought a nice car, to look good in when he was driving around, it would be the same as Traci’s breasts. These arguments did not sway the judge. He found the whole idea to be absurd and told them exactly that.

A similar case involved a Dr. Richard Batista. He had given his wife a kidney and demanded that she give it back during the divorce. He was embroiled in four year long divorce proceedings and was becoming very frustrated with the negotiations. He said that he would take the kidney or $1.5 million. His demand was also denied.

Some people believe that plastic surgery procedures are commodities that can be listed as marital assets. Fortunately, no judge has decided that they are right.

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.”

A Spanish man posing as a medical doctor has been arrested in Spain for performing cosmetic surgery procedures on human patients while using veterinarian instruments designed for use on animals.

The 63 year old man who resides in Barcelona was cited for practicing medicine without a license. His home office where he performed the procedures was filthy and contaminated by the presence of three dogs, a cat, and a parrot.

For the hefty price of 250 to 500 Euros (330.00 to 660.00 USD) the so called doctor used a veterinary tool to inject liquid silicone into his human patients. Performing both breast augmentation and buttock implants, the man is reported to have injected silicone directly into the patient’s bodies without using an implant. This procedure is dangerous and potentially life threatening. Authorities were tipped off to the man’s home medical practice when they received a complaint from a patient about a defective breast implant.

The arrest of this supposed doctor illustrates not only the popularity of cosmetic surgery, but the frustration patients have when considering the exorbitant costs of plastic surgery procedures. Patients desperate for the surgery were willing to have an invasive medical procedure done to them in a private citizen’s home without the benefit of sterile conditions and hospital care simply because it was offered to them at a fraction of the cost the procedure would cost in a reputable hospital.

 As society becomes more comfortable with the concept of cosmetic surgery more and more disreputable opportunists will make themselves available to perform dangerous procedures at deflated prices. Though the fact that this man would do such a thing is reprehensible, what is more shocking is that people would go to him in the first place.

In the past, many patients have been put off going down the road of Rhinoplasty because they feel they could lose their ethnic identity; they sight precedents such as Janet Jackson as evidence.

But news has reached us that soon patients from all ethnic backgrounds should be able to benefit equally from the surgical procedure. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the ASAPS, has said that concerns over loss of ethnic identity have, in the past, deterred some people from having nose-jobs and other procedures.  However, money which has been invested into specialised training in the field and new technology now means that rhinoplasty needn’t obscure the ethnic heritage of the patient in question!

Dr. Julius Few spoke out at the annual conference on the ASAPS, saying that:” It is vital to preserve the ethnic heritage of the given patient and understand that ethnic rhinoplasty is more about balance of the face and not assuming the look of another racial or ethnic group – a fear that many African American patients still have.” This news will be welcome by the industry as a whole and will be seen as a key way on introducing more and more patients into the growing field of cosmetic surgery.

Rhinoplasty has long been one of the most popular procedures performed in the U.K, helped by the famous celebrity associations which it has, and both men and women have been going under the knife in order to gain the perfect sniffer!  It has long been thought that it was really easy to tell which people have had rhinoplasty performed on them and this became even more the case when the procedure had been performed on those of ethnic heritage.  As the public has become and more aware of rhinoplasty, with more of the population knowing what that word means than know where the stomach is located in the human body, they have become more astute at spotting who has had the procedure done. This new breakthrough should hopefully make nose-jobs more clandestine.

Not that they need to be, much of the stigma which once surrounded plastic surgery has now receded. However, the news that more and more people will be able to benefit equally from cosmetic procedures is great news and one can only hope that more and more breakthrough’s of this magnitude keep on coming!