Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Blog – Harley Medical Group

Cosmetic surgeons and skin care experts have revealed that the Christmas period is their busiest time of year.

Dr Franklin Rose, a plastic surgeon operating in Houston, Texas, said he saw a rise in the number of patients wanting face lifts. During December he performed approximately 20 face lifts a week, twice the number of patients he usually sees each week.

While the festive holiday period might seem like an unusual time to have cosmetic surgery, those in the industry attribute the rise in patients during December to the downtime from work. Surgeons and dermatologists believe that the holiday period gives patients time to recover and scars or redness time to fade.

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Dr Fazel Fatah, plastic surgeon and president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), has called the cross-selling of procedures “unethical”.

Talking to the BBC, Dr Fatah issued a stark warning that lines are becoming dangerously blurred between surgical and non-surgical treatments. The surgeon compared choosing an unregulated clinic to have either type of procedure, to trusting your boiler to an unqualified engineer.

The number of people choosing to have Botox and face lifts for example is rising rapidly and with this in mind Dr Fatah is worried that cosmetic treatments are trivialising serious surgical operations.

“While you may think there is nothing unethical about encouraging customers to buy two items from a shop when they intend to buy one only, it is highly unethical to cross sell serious medical procedures to an unwitting customer when she or he goes simply to have a non-invasive beauty treatment or injections to reduce wrinkles”, says Dr Fatah.

And it is with this in mind that patients are reminded of the importance of choosing a regulated and ethical provider, whether they are opting for surgical or non-surgical procedures.

The NHS in Warrington has taken the decision to ban non-urgent procedures such as thread vein removal and face lifts from its hospitals.

The decision was made as pressure mounts to cut costs and free up budgets for medical rather than cosmetic procedures. A spokesperson for the region’s health service explained that the changes are about prioritising the most serious cases.

 “If the PCT funds cosmetic surgery for example, money will be diverted from patients with greater clinical need and people do have the right to appeal”, the spokesperson said.

Liposuction, weight loss surgery, and breast reduction surgery are also on the list of procedures no longer being offered by the NHS in Warrington. Decisions were made on which procedures to remove from the list after consultations with healthcare professionals and by working in line with the principles of the Cheshire and Merseyside PCT’s Prior Approval and Procedures of Limited Clinical Priority policy.

John Hannah, Scottish actor and star of hit films Four Weddings and A Funeral and Sliding Doors, has compared cosmetic surgery to getting a haircut.

In a health quiz published in the Daily Mail, the 49-year-old was asked whether he would ever have plastic surgery, to which he replied that his sister is a cosmetic nurse and they have talked about it a lot.

“My elder sister, Jo, is a nurse who works in a plastic surgery hospital, so I’ve had lots of discussions about this”, he said.

“You get your hair cut because it makes you look and feel better and many people spend a fortune on their teeth — so why is that vanity OK and plastic surgery not? However, I do think there’s a line you cross when you start looking weird”, he added.

More celebrities are admitting to being fans of non-surgical procedures such as Botox and laser hair removal, while more ordinary people are seeing surgery such as face lifts and breast enlargement as acceptable.

New figures from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that the number of people having laser hair removal treatment and Botox injections has risen sharply.

Of the 13.1 million procedures performed in 2010, 11.6 million were non-surgical and 91 per cent of them were carried out on female patients. The number of Botox injections administered in 2010 was up 584 per cent on the same figures from 2000, a reflection of the incredible advances made in the last decade. Laser hair removal treatments were also up by 27 per cent on figures from ten years ago.

Other procedures that became more popular last year were breast implants, up two per cent, breast uplifts, up nine per cent, and breast reduction, up 6 per cent. Dermal fillers also gained popularity.

The popularity of a number of procedures fell when compared with the last decade, including liposuction, face lift surgery, nose jobs and eyelid surgery.

International news hub Forbes has named Salt Lake City the vainest place in America, ahead of previous title holder New York City.

According to recent figures, Salt Lake City in Utah is home to 45 plastic surgeons, which equates to six surgeons for every 100,000 residents. New York City boasts an incredible 590 cosmetic surgeons, but this only equals four per 100,000 people.

Experts put the growth in numbers down to the pressure that the recession puts on older jobseekers to compete with younger rivals.

In an interview with online newspaper Utah Business, Dr Renato Saltz, former president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) said: “In a recession it’s even more critical to remain competitive. I’ve had people tell me they have an important interview and need to look better. I haven’t seen that in the past.”

Experts also attribute the rise in demand for cosmetic surgery procedures such as face lifts and non-surgical solutions such as Botox and laser hair removal, to the advances in technology that have significantly reduced recovery and down time.

New figures reveal that more than half of executives would consider cosmetic treatments as a way of boosting their career prospects.

The study, carried out by consultant firm The Aziz Corporation, found that 54 per cent of female executives and 50.6 per cent of male would consider cosmetic treatments as a way of increasing their standing in their workplace.

What’s more, the company discovered that nearly a third of the female respondents, 30 per cent, had undergone cosmetic procedures already, as had 17 per cent of the men questioned. (more…)

The explosive growth of non surgical treatments, making it quicker and cheaper than ever before to combat the signs of ageing, is not causing a corresponding decline in the number of people embracing more invasive treatments, according to an industry expert. (more…)

The improving economy could mean that more people have the financial freedom to choose the cosmetic surgery treatments they have long hoped for, according to a new study carried out in the United States. (more…)

Global pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson have agreed to acquire breast implant maker Mentor Corp.

The deal will seal at over £700 million in a rare 10-figure deal that will boost Johnson & Johnson’s aesthetic product offerings and increase competition against competitor Allergan Inc. (more…)