Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Blog – Harley Medical Group

Actress Jennifer Metcalfe has revealed that her decision to undergo liposuction surgery was made purely for herself, and no one else.

In an interview with more! magazine, Metcalfe, who plays Mercedes McQueen in Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, said: “I did it for me and that’s it. I wouldn’t say I’ve learnt anything by having surgery. I think surgery is a really personal decision only you can make”.

She added: “I would never have surgery because someone else thought I should”.

Metcalfe had the fat removal surgery last summer, to take her hips from a size 10-12, to a size 6-8. She admitted that her mum did not want her to go ahead with the procedure, but afterwards said “you do look great”.

The gorgeous actress is currently starring on ITV’s Dancing On Ice, and last weekend shared a kiss with skating partner Sylvain Longchambon, sparking rumours of romance off the ice.

American fitness guru and cosmetic surgeon Dr Dave David has revealed that Americans have some big misconceptions about weight loss.

In an interview with online American newspaper the Dedham Transcript, Dr David was asked what he thought the biggest of these delusions was, and answered: “That if they want to lose fat in a given area, they exercise that area.

“The truth is that doing this only builds muscle in that area, which can only make it larger if anything”.

Dr David, who has just released a CD, ‘The REAL Secrets to a Slimmer You’, concentrates on educating patients in effective weight loss, and insists that “only by body-sculpting procedures (such as liposuction) can you choose where the fat comes off”.

The cosmetic surgeon advises his patients to change their overall lifestyle if they want to lose weight in specific areas. He recommends changing what, and how much, they eat, as well as doing fat-burning exercises.

Obesity problems in the UK are likely to lead to an increase in enquiries about weight loss surgery and cosmetic surgery.

When asked how obesity levels in the UK could affect the cosmetic surgery industry, Nigel Mercer, former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said: “Normal patients are having weight loss surgery and then they need very extensive operations to have body lifts, breast lifts, face-lifting and arm lifts to try and get them back into a situation where they can wear normal clothes without having massive skin folds”.

This news comes after research from BAAPS showed that the demand for non-surgical cosmetic procedures rose dramatically in 2010, from 2009. The British Association of Cosmetic Doctors predicts that this trend will continue as people choose quick-fix alternatives, such as dermal fillers, to surgical procedures.

Mercer added that surgery to remove eye bags (blepharoplasty) is becoming increasingly popular, particularly among men.

A cancer patient has told doctors at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Claremont, USA, that having dermal fillers has restored her self-confidence.

Having undergone the non-surgical treatment, the patient, referred to only as Vickie, told her cosmetic physician Dr Alana Rowick: “I feel back to my old self”.

Vickie described how the treatment for cancer had caused significant weight loss, which in turn had left her looking “old and haggard”.

When asked whether or not she would recommend such procedures to other cancer patients, the 46-year-old said: “Most definitely. After months of feeling like a social outcast, I went to a Melbourne Cup lunch with the girls…I had the best day I’d had for a long time – I felt like a million dollars. You cannot put a price on how you feel”.

Dr Rowick, who treats large numbers of cancer patients at her clinic, talked extensively of the positive emotional, as well as physical, changes that she sees in her clients, and of the strong links between the way you look and the way you feel.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has finally responded to rumours about having undergone cosmetic surgery, by denying that he has had any recent treatments.

There has been press speculation since the loud-mouthed chef was photographed on holiday in Napa Valley, California, looking decidedly puffy.

Ramsay put his strange and swollen appearance down to a combination of petrol and horses. In Shark Bait, Ramsay’s documentary on the illegal activity of harvesting shark fins which aired on January 16, the chef was filmed being attacked with petrol.

In a press conference, Ramsay told reporters: “I had petrol gasoline poured all over my hair and I had a horrific infection”.

He then added: “I was in Napa for Christmas literally two weeks after the shoot and went horseback riding with the kids and had a horrendous allergic reaction to the horses, combined with the problems I had with my scalp, so it was just a hair nightmare”.

In 2009, Ramsay admitted to having dermal fillers to plump out deep lines and grooves on his forehead, chin, and around his mouth and nose.

According to recent research, carried out by independent communications consultancy The Aziz Corporation, more and more men are opting for cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures. This spike in the number of men choosing to undergo everything from face lifts and liposuction surgery, to male chest reduction and Botox, has been attributed to the following:
• To achieve good career progression;
• To compete on a level playing field with younger colleagues / jobseekers;
• Because cosmetic surgery for men is becoming increasingly socially acceptable.

Career progression
Of those senior executives surveyed by The Aziz Corporation, 96 per cent believe that looking good will give them a better chance of achieving good career progression, 50.6 per cent would think about having cosmetic surgery and non-surgical treatments, and 17 per cent have already had cosmetic surgery.

To compete with younger colleagues / jobseekers
Since the recession, the pool of jobs has got smaller, while the number of jobseekers has risen, and this has caused an increase in the number of older men seeking a more youthful look to present to prospective employers.

Dr David Ellis, who runs an anti-ageing clinic in Toronto, Canada, calls this new emphasis on looking good to get ahead, a person’s “facial resume”. He has seen a significant rise in the number of men requesting cosmetic treatments, revealing that having dermal fillers, such as Botox, to plump up cheeks and reduce the appearance of frown furrows and wrinkles, are the most popular age-reversing procedures.

Socially acceptable
Statistics from The American Society for Plastic Surgeons showed that in 2009, nose reshaping was the most commonly performed procedure on men, followed by eyelid surgery, liposuction, chest reduction, and hair transplantation. Reports of male celebrities such as Michael Douglas (face lift) and Gordon Ramsay (hair transplants and dermal fillers) undergoing plastic surgery undoubtedly paves the way for ordinary men to openly undergo these procedures to reverse the ageing process and look good, just as women have for many years.

An American plastic surgeon has revealed that more and more patients are opting to combine surgical and non-surgical procedures to change multiple areas of the body at once and to cut recovery times.

In an interview with online magazine American Health and Beauty, Denver Board certified surgeon Dr Jason Martin said: “I perform multiple procedures at the same time, and I think plastic surgery as a field is going toward that direction.

“People want to get natural changes, but they want to treat the whole body – not just one area”.

As the overall demand for cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures increases, Dr Martin also told the online magazine that nowadays he rarely performs single treatments and describes this shift as “the newer way”.

Some combinations are not, however, a new phenomenon. UK clinics have been combining face lifts with neck lifts, liposuction with tummy tucks, and non-surgical treatments such as skin peels with medical microdermabrasions, for many years.

Dancer and reality television star Louie Spence convinced five men to appear on ITV’s This Morning, as part of an experiment to test various hair removal techniques.

The men, each of whom was suitably hirsute, lay face down on a row of massage tables wearing nothing but thongs, as they waited for Spence to test the five hair removal treatments. The show’s presenters, Holly Willoughby and Ben Shepherd, giggled and grimaced as the flamboyant star carried out the treatments on the men’s bottoms.

Spence tested a razor, a hair removal cream, a set of clippers, wax strips, and an epilator, before checking the smoothness of the skin and writing his verdict, a score out of ten, in pink lipstick on each man’s back.

The Pineapple Studios dance instructor admitted: “I’m no beauty expert, but I know what to do because I do it!”

The star was limited to testing temporary treatments, and was not therefore able to test laser hair removal. This technique can be used to effectively and permanently reduce or remove unwanted hair on the face and body.

Experts have prescribed laser hair removal treatment as a cure for painful, red, and swollen ingrown hairs.

In a story published online by The Clinical Advisor, laser hair removal can rid men and women of the problem of ingrown hairs, wherever they may occur.

The online paper said: “Pseudofolliculitis is caused by shaved hair shafts inserting back into the skin, leading to inflammation and follicular papules. This occurs not only in the pubic area of young women, but also the beard area of men”.

Ingrown hairs can also occur in any area of the body that is subjected to shaving or plucking. While depilatory creams can temporarily reduce the instances of ingrown hairs, The Clinical Advisor suggests that where the permanent removal of hair is possible, laser hair removal is an effective, long term, and excellent option. 

The procedure of laser hair removal is simple and virtually pain-free; a qualified nurse or aesthetic practitioner passes a laser over the area being treated, which perishes the hair and leaves the skin smooth and hair free.

Laser hair removal has been hailed as the way to avoid celebrity mishaps such as visible underarm hair and excessive facial hair.

In recent years, Hollywood A-list celebrities such as Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore have been photographed with unkempt underarms on the red carpet. The latest celebrity to make this mistake is star of hit films Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, Hilary Swank.

It is not only body hair that has been left unchecked by careless celebrities, but facial hair as well. Kelly Osbourne, television presenter and daughter of ex-Black Sabbath member Ozzy Osbourne, was recently photographed with a little too much facial hair on her top lip.

Madeleine Crisp, a reporter for The Mirror online, recommends IPL hair removal for those looking to “make facial hair a thing of the past”. This treatment can also be effective in permanently removing or reducing underarm hair and other unwanted body hair.