Top Eight Cosmetic Procedures 2010

4 April 2011

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1.Breast Enlargement
2.Breast Uplift
3.Breast Reduction
4.Liposuction
5.Eyelid Surgery
6.Face and Neck Lifts
7.Tummy Tuck
8.Rhinoplasty (Nose Corrective Surgery)

1. Breast Enlargement

Breast Enlargement otherwise known as breast implants, breast enhancement, breast augmentation or in the tabloid press the boob job is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in the UK.

Pregnancy, the impact of breast feeding, gravity, the aging process, changes in hormone, weight fluctuation, and just plain genetics can all be triggers for women wanting a breast enlargement.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to change the size of your breasts, the results are about much more than a physical change. A breast enlargement can make you feel more desirable, feminine and enhance intimacy. A breast enlargement can boost self-esteem and increase your confidence. A breast enlargement can have positive effects in love, work and life generally.

There are a variety of breast enlargement implant types varying in size, shape, and texture. The way the breast enlargement implant can be inserted and where the incisions are placed can vary as can whether the implant lies over or under the muscle. A skilled and experienced breast enlargement surgeon will guide you through these decisions so that you can achieve the best breast enlargement results for you.

2. Breast Uplift

A Breast Uplift raises and reshapes sagging breasts and nipples. The breast uplift repositions the breast to allow a fuller, perkier and more youthful appearance.

3. Breast Reduction

Breast reduction surgery removes any excess breast and fatty tissue whilst reducing the areola (small circle area around the nipple) and lifting the breast. The breast reduction provides for a smaller better proportioned younger and more desirable appearance.

4. Liposuction

Liposuction can sometimes be referred to as liposculpture or lipectomy. Liposuction is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery procedures in the world. Put simply it is the surgical removal of fat from certain areas of the body. Liposuction is often performed on fairly small, stubborn areas of the body which are resistant to a healthy diet and exercise regime. Although many types of liposuction are performed, the basic procedure requires anaesthetic followed by a hollow tube, with a powerful vacuum, being passed back and forth through the stubborn body fat areas.

Liposuction results are the best on a patient who is near their target body weight (10% to 15%), exercises regularly, eats and drinks well, and has fairly elastic skin with either one or a few stubborn fat deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise. By ‘vacuuming’ the fat cells it will remove some of the bulk making you slimmer. Not only that, but the area will then have less tendency to accumulate fat again.

Patients with chronic medical conditions such as heart or kidney disease should avoid liposuction. During your consultation with the cosmetic surgeon, he or she should examine you thoroughly, especially in the areas to be treated. They will also need to very carefully go through your medical history. It is important that you tell your surgeon if you have a hernia as this could be punctured during the operation.

Not all body areas are ideally suited to liposuction. The best liposuction results occur around the hips, abdomen, thighs, and neck. The least aesthetically pleasing results can occur with the dimpling, rippling and other contour deformities of the buttocks.

In the case of abdominal fat, the fat is located both within the abdomen itself and around the organs (This is known as "deep fat") and between the abdominal muscles and the skin (This is known as subcutaneous fat). Liposuction can only remove subcutaneous fat, but many people, especially men, have most of their abdominal fat stored as "deep fat" behind the abdominal muscles. Patients like this will not experience as much of an improvement with liposuction as patients with most abdominal fat stored subcutaneously. This is an area that a skilled and experienced cosmetic surgeon can advise you on.

Cellulite is a common condition characterised by the dimpling of the skin over fat. It is most common on the buttocks, thighs and hips. Cellulite is caused by fibrous bands of connective tissue that are connected to the under surface of the skin. Liposuction will not significantly improve Cellulite and it may make it appear worse, especially in older people.

5. Eyelid Surgery

Eyelid surgery is medically known as Blepharoplasty. The most prominent feature on a person is the face and often the eyes are the most distinctive. Your eyes can give away if you are feeling happy, tired, sad, or stressed out.

A very subtle change in the eyelids can create a massive change in your outward appearance. The impact this surgery has on how people react to you is one of the reasons why eyelid surgery is becoming a very popular cosmetic surgery procedure.

Using different techniques a cosmetic surgeon can remove excess eyelid skin, remove pockets of bulging fat, and remove under eye bags. The cosmetic surgeon can repair torn or damaged muscles provide a more youthful lower eyelid contour. In certain cases removing upper eyelid skin or repairing the eyelid muscles can even improve vision or the functionality of the eyes.

Eyelid surgery can be carried out on any age person so long as they are medically and emotionally suitable. It is most common after the age of 40.

surgery can remove excess skin, but will not change the quality of the skin itself. For lines and wrinkles, a chemical peel or laser treatment may also be performed. Eyelid surgery does not prevent crow's feet or frowning but injections of Botox may help.

6. Face Lifts

The face suffers in many ways. From the aging process, to gravity, sun exposure, muscle contractions, poor diet, smoking and genetics the face changes over the years.

Sagging of the cheeks causes hollowness under the eyes and jowls along the jaw line. Loss of elasticity in the skin leads to loose, wrinkled skin on the face and neck, and deepening of the lines that run from the nose to the lips or from the nose all the way to the chin. Drooping muscles and fat pockets lead to bulges and depressions in places you never had when younger.

A facelift carried out by a skilled and experienced cosmetic surgeon can remedy most, if not all of these concerns. The modern face lift can turn back time, rather than create the pulled unsubtle look in which early facelifts resulted.

Face lifts are not usually performed until the 40s, 50s, and sometimes beyond. As a maintenance measure people in their 30s or 40s may have a mini facelift for minor corrections. In most cases, a facelift can take 5 or 10 years off of your age.

Generally, a face lift can remove excess skin, reposition sagging muscles, and eliminate fatty deposits. It can smooth the jaw and neckline, lift the cheeks, and reduce lines between the nose and mouth. There are a variety of techniques that can be used depending on your individual circumstances and the surgeon's preferences.

A facelift does not correct problems around the eyes or forehead, and some people need a more extensive neck lift to address issues of aging and contour of the neck area. While a face lift can soften the lines between nose and mouth it will not reduce them completely. The lines around the lips or around the mouth itself will not be addressed. Although the facelift will remove excess skin it will not change the quality of the skin itself.

For these reasons, a facelift is often combined with other surgical and non-surgical procedures such as a brow lift, neck lift, eyelid surgery, dermal fillers, chemical peels and laser resurfacing.

7 Tummy Tuck

A tummy tuck, like liposuction, is not a weight loss procedure but is designed to treat a problem area that cannot be changed through diet and exercise. Results from this procedure can be life changing. Removing excess skin may mean clothes will fit better, you will feel a lot more comfortable and may have the confidence to do things you may have previously shied away from or wear certain styles of clothes you may have previosly avoided.

8. Rhinoplasty (Corrective Nose Surgery)

Corrective nose surgery otherwise known as Rhinoplasty is an operation performed to change the shape of the nose.

Rhinoplasty may be required to alter the appearance caused by an injury, correction of a congenital deformity, or to simply improve the appearance of a normal nose.

Corrective nose surgery can improve a crooked nose, nasal hump, wide nasal bridge, wide nasal tip (often referred to as a bulbous nose), flaring nostrils, overly turned up nose, overly turned down nose and a pinched nasal tip.

Most cosmetic surgeons consider rhinoplasty to be the most complex cosmetic operation. This is based on the fact that the cosmetic surgeon has to combine aesthetic goals of the surgery with the critical structural concepts. Corrective nose surgery is not just about sculpting but also about architecture and support.

Incisions are generally placed inside the nostrils and frequently just above the lip in a way that leaves no visible scars after surgery. The surgeon reshapes the cartilage in the nose by cutting, suturing, and grafting cartilage pieces taken from inside the nose. When it is necessary the bone is reshaped by cutting and rasping.

At the time of the rhinoplasty additional nose procedures may be carried out for nasal airway correction. In certain cases the rhinoplasty may need to be complimented with a chin augmentation to balance the shape and size of the nose.

The most common risk of nose surgery is not meeting expectations. The difficulty is that a minor imperfection may not be equally acceptable to the surgeon and the patient. This may require a minor revision procedure to correct the problem. The most serious complication is a secondary deformity due to a structural problem that requires a revision rhinoplasty.

An expert nose re-shaping surgeon can largely avoid this type of complication. However because of the complexities of the cosmetic surgery an accepted revision rate ranges from 5% to 15% of cases. Although most are minor this could be very frustrating for the patient. Occasionally, a patient may be left with a restricted nasal airway. Rarely, nasal bleeding that requires medical intervention can occur up to 10 days after the operation as can prolonged bruising under the eyes which can last up to 6 weeks.