Here’s an extract of a press release we saw this week.  It’s good to know Stomach Balloons are being more widely offered in the UK, but the cost is, as one would expect, significantly higher than in the Czech Republic. 

“PRIVATE SECTOR LEADS WAY WITH FAT BALLOON IMPLANTS – POSSIBLE CURE FOR OBESITY
The Hospital Group are one of the first medical organisations to provide what are referred to as “balloon implantsâ€� – a new revolutionary weight loss treatment, ignored by the NHS, which could save thousands suffering from the effects of obesity and its associated diseases.

The Hospital Group, the UK’s leading provider of weight loss surgery, are set to insert silicone balloons into the stomachs of people who are over weight with a BMI of 30+ – making them eat less, feel full and re-learn eating habits over a period of six months.

The procedure is already popular in the States and experts are predicting it could provide the answer the Britain’s obesity crisis. Recent research shows that almost one in four adults are now regarded as obese and two thirds as being overweight.

As demand for weight loss solutions grow, The Hospital Group predict that the gastric/silicone balloon could be the long awaited answer for short term weight loss. It is not, however, recommended for the morbidly obese – which Government watchdogs point as the reason why the NHS is turning a blind eye to such an effective weight loss treatment.

A new study from Brazil showed that patients who had this revolutionary treatment lost almost half their excess weight and with the gastric balloon suffered no side effects.

The gastric/silicone balloon is a non-invasive way of reducing the size of the stomach. A balloon is put in under sedation and the patient suffers only mild discomfort. Most patients say they don’t even feel that it is there. The objective of the balloon is to re-educate the patient about food and their relationship with it.

If patient starts to gain weight again they may require a gastric band or bypass. The gastric/silicone balloon is designed to act as a form of portion control allowing patients to lose weight whilst maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

Silicone balloon prices start at £3,950. For more information contact The Hospital Group, website: wwwthehospitalgroup.org or call: 0800 135 3055

Press Note: we do not have case studies yet as this proceedure is only being introduced through The Hospital Group this week. “

Monday, September 3 2007, 00:51 BST
story courtesy of Digital Spy www.digitalspy.co.uk
By Dave West

Doctors have criticised the BBC for a programme which sees a 17-year-old former anorexic have breast implants.

In Under 18 And Under The Knife, airing on BBC Three on Sunday, student Lynsey Bowman is sent to America for the surgery.

She could not have it done in the UK because of rules on under-18s so programme makers paid for her family’s travelling expenses.

Paul Bagley, a senior British cosmetic surgeon, said Bowman would not have “matured physically enough” for the operation.

And a leading child psychologist, Ruth Coppard, added of the Endemol-produced show: “They have behaved in a very dodgy way. It’s awful.

“This girl is only 17. Emotionally she is still a child and there’s still a lot of physical changing to do too.”

However, Bowman tells how she feels the surgery, to take her from 30AA to 30C, will improve her life.

And her surgeon Peter Driscoll commented: “It can really affect their personality if they have a big hang-up about looking like other girls.”

A spokesman for the corporation added: “Expenses are a normal part of the cost of a documentary. We didn’t pay for Lynsey’s operation, this was paid for by her family and done with her family’s consent.”

Following research by the University of Aberdeen which revealed that British women have cosmetic surgery to please their partners, healthcare provider, BMI Healthcare said that it wrongly reflects the British cosmetic surgery industry. BMI Healthcare has conducted approximately 1262 procedures since January this year for their national cosmetic surgery product and one of its surgeons,Akhtar Hussain, believes that the majority of patients are doing it for their own reasons.

Akthar Hussein comments: “There can be a great deal of physical and emotional trauma associated with plastic surgery and it is important that patients do it for their own reasons. According to best practice guidelines issued by the General Medical Council, we can turn patients away if we feel that they are pressurised into having cosmetic surgery or where we believe that cosmetic surgery would not be of any benefit to them.”

According to BMI, one of most common trends is women undergoing breast augmentation surgery post-pregnancy, as they tend to lose weight and find that extensive breast-feeding can change the shape of their breasts.

Is your nose too long? Too short? Too bumpy? The beauty of the modern rhinoplasty procedure is that there is so much room for artistic improvement, so much flexibility to achieve a perfectly balanced shape at the hands of your skilled cosmetic surgeon. A few strategic changes in the appearance of you nose can positively affect your entire facial appearance. Your doctor will reshape your nose with the ultimate goals of accentuating positive features, while minimizing features you’re not happy with.

Modern advances in rhinoplasty have allowed today’s surgeons to choose from a wide range of techniques to give each patient a truly unique result, correcting even the smallest features they are unsatisfied with. In keeping with the parameters of a functional nose, you and your doctor are free to design a nose that adds an aesthetic beauty to your face not possible without cosmetic enhancement.

Today’s nose surgeries are more concerned with aesthetics and artistry than those of the past. “Facial harmony” is always the first priority with nose surgery, and your nose surgeon will take all the elements of your face into consideration when planning your nose results. In order to architect your ideal nose, your surgeon can use technology like computer imaging, nasal endoscopy to explore your nasal anatomy, and other methods of internal evaluation.

To decide on the “perfect nose,” you can look through magazines, view before and after photos, and discuss specific sizes, shapes, and relative proportions with your surgeon. Think about your profile, and how you’d like to look from the front and sides. Point out specific features of your nose that you are not happy with, and features on others that you find particularly attractive. You cosmetic surgeon should be able to interpret and balance all of this information to create a nose that is uniquely you.

Once a perfect model is designed, your surgeon will decide on the right nose surgery procedure:
· Open Method – An incision is made on the columella between the nostrils
· Closed Method – An incision is made inside the nostrils

During the nose surgery, skin is separated from underlying bone and cartilage, the bone and cartilage is artfully shaped with a combination of surgical skill and advanced tools, and the skin is then draped over the new nose.