Banbury Guardian 29 August 2007

A MOTHER who is sporting a whole new look after undergoing major plastic surgery will be baring all on national television.

Salena Newport, 40, of Adderbury is appearing on Channel 4 makeover programme 10 Years Younger on Thursday, August 30, where viewers will see the results of her extensive operations.

Mrs Newport – who used to weigh 231/2 stone and wore size 32 clothes – lost 121/2 stone in 2005 after paying £5,000 to have a gastric band fitted.

But the dramatic weight loss left her with baggy, excess skin.
As part of the popular TV show, which aims to make participants look ten years younger, Mrs Newport had loose skin cut from her arms and thighs, a complete lower body lift, breast uplift and implants, a nose job and new teeth.

All businesses are used to dealing with absences due to illness. But the issue of how to handle attendance and performance issues caused by elective medical procedures is less clear cut.

With about 28,900 cosmetic procedures carried out in 2006, and one-in-seven couples with fertility problems, it’s an increasingly pertinent issue. Would you, for example, treat an employee undergoing chemotherapy in the same way as you would treat an employee undergoing a course of IVF? Similarly, is the employee recovering from their breast augmentation afforded the same rights as the employee recuperating from heart surgery?

Are employees who choose to have elective procedures entitled to sick pay?

An employee is entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) when they are unfit to work, as the reason for their absence is essentially immaterial. Provided they follow the requisite notification requirements, then SSP is payable. Staff undergoing fertility treatment are, however, not entitled to SSP unless the effect of that treatment – such as stress or depression – means they are unfit for work.

full article http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2007/08/22/55991/legal+q.html

By Jane Elliott
BBC News, health reporter
Lou Hunneybel hated her 38G breasts – they were too big and caused her daily agony.
Her shoulders and back ached from the excessive weight and she had an uncomfortable fungal rash underneath caused by excessive sweating.
Her GP told her she needed to lose at least a stone and a half (9.5kg) in weight before she would be considered for surgery.
She lost two stones (12.7 kg), but no weight went from her breasts leaving her a dress size 14 (European 40, US 12) on the bottom and size 22 (European 48, US 20) on the top.
Her GP then referred her for surgery, but without seeing her, the local primary care trust (PCT) immediately refused treatment.
“I was just so upset. My GP had referred me and said that I had problems, but they just sent me a letter saying that it was cosmetic surgery so I could not even have a consultation on the NHS.
“But it was not just cosmetic, I was in real discomfort. It was so uncomfortable.
“I had a huge thrush rash underneath them, which was very sore.
“My husband, Andrew, was so cross when they refused me that he took pictures of my breasts and the rash and posted them to the PCT.
“We knew I needed the operation and I needed them to see my problems.
“He blew the pictures up to A4 size and sent them in the post.”
Within weeks of sending the photos, 36-year-old Lou, from Essex, was given a consultation date and just months later she had her NHS surgery.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6688353.stm

2007-08-13 Ucompare
www.Ucompare-Cosmeticsurgery.co.uk
In our first instalment, we are choosing to have a look at the various factors that have resulted in a huge growth in the cosmetic surgery industry in the Czech Republic, and discuss why Prague in particular has become a centre for cosmetic surgery excellence in Europe.

There are predominantly three main factors which has converged to result in the growth in cosmetic surgery in Prague. Firstly, lower prices for comparable cosmetic surgery in Prague, sometimes in the region of 60% have meant that the overall cost saving made by having your cosmetic surgery in the Czech Republic can often be as much as £2,500 – £3,000. Significant savings such as these have resulted cosmetic surgery in Prague becoming increasingly accessible to more moderate income earners in the UK.

Secondly, the high standards of cosmetic surgery on offer within the Czech Republic have become more apparent to individuals researching the opportunities for having their cosmetic surgery abroad. With cosmetic surgeons in the Czech Republic being tightly regulated and licensed through accreditation boards such as the Czech Society for Aesthetic Surgery, high standards have been maintained throughout the country.

Finally, the past ten years have seen an increasing number of low fare airlines offering cheap flights to the Czech Republic, and with the flight time to Prague being comparable to the journey to London, an increasing number of individuals have chosen to have their cosmetic surgery procedure undertaken in Prague.

(HealthNewsDigest.com) 
Cardinal Health, a global provider of products and services that improve the safety and productivity of health care, today announced Presource® Standard Cosmetic-Surgery Packs – prepackaged kits that provide the core surgical components needed for common cosmetic surgery procedures.

The new procedure packs are available for liposuction, abdominoplasty, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, facial rhytidectomy, breast augmentation, breast reduction and breast lift. Consumer demand for these procedures is growing at a rate of 12 percent annually, with Americans spending approximately $12.4 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2006.

“As the demand for cosmetic surgery procedures continues to grow, health-care providers must be focused on improving the quality and safety of patient care, while also improving the efficiency with which that care is delivered,� said Steve Inacker, president and general manager of Cardinal Health’s Presource® Products and Services business

By Angela Parker Indystar.com 15/08/07
If you’re thinking those laugh lines aren’t so funny anymore or that surgery might be the only way to shed dangerous extra pounds, here’s a tip: Having realistic expectations and determination are requirements for successful cosmetic or bariatric surgery.
 
For cosmetic surgery patients, realistic expectations are like best friends who tell the truth even when it hurts. Expecting surgery to turn a Phyllis Diller into a Julia Roberts is just not realistic — but expecting to look like a younger version of yourself is totally achievable. Dr. Catherine P. Winslow, FACS, Winslow Facial Plastic Surgery, recommends looking at photographs from 10 years ago to get an idea of what surgery can accomplish.

“Anti-aging surgery is designed to take the years off, not alter the way you look,� Winslow said. “If patients have good expectations, they are going to be pleased with the results. If they have inappropriate expectations, they are going to be unhappy no matter what you do.�

Extensive presurgery counseling with a surgeon or psychologist helps ensure patients have the proper perspective, and it can reveal unhealthy attitudes that would make them poor surgery candidates.

After surgery, patients might experience mild depression early in the healing process. Though they know to expect some swelling, seeing their faces in that condition can be disconcerting.

“A lot of hand-holding is involved in getting patients to the point where they are happy with the results,� Winslow said.

For bariatric surgery patients, determination is the critical element. It’s a mistake to think surgery alone is a cure for obesity. After the initial dramatic weight loss, patients must be determined to keep the pounds off for a lifetime.

“We can deliver a lot of skill and advice and performance. But if the recipient is not going to be a team player, then no matter how good our work is, it’s not going to work out,� said Dr. Samer G. Mattar, medical director, Clarian Bariatric Center.

Ironically, patients must start losing weight six months before surgery. Bariatric surgery risks are about the same as with gall bladder surgery, but obese patients can reduce their risk by changing their diets and shrinking their enlarged livers. This enables the surgeon to maneuver more easily behind it to work on the stomach.

Patients who are unwilling to make this effort likely won’t have the determination to make their surgery a lifelong success.

“The only patient who is not suitable is the patient who is not willing to see me in preparation for surgery,� said Ruthanne M. Hilbrich, RD, nutrition coordinator, Clarian Bariatric Center. “They have to shrink that liver, and if they are not willing to, I postpone their surgery.�

Plastic surgeons today condemned a radio phone-in offering a boob job as a prize. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) criticised Liverpool`s Juice FM for giving Nadine Pude, 27, the chance to increase her A-cup bosom to a double D – which she has plumped for.

Nadine, who plans to buy “loads of new underwear and a bikini that really shows off my assets”, won the Bra Wars competition after viewers voted for her on the radio`s online Juice Tube site.

But Adam Searle, former Baaps president, said: “The giving of a surgical procedure as a prize is an unbelievable, dangerous and highly unethical practice.

“The decision to perform any surgical procedure must be based on common sense, case selection, good surgical decision making and patient safety.

“The offer of a cosmetic surgery procedure as a prize is an awful manifestation of the trivialisation of medical care in general, and aesthetic surgery in particular.”
 

Raleigh, NC — (SBWIRE) — 08/07/2007 –

Breast implants for cosmetic augmentation first became available in the 1960’s and rapidly gained popularity in the 1970’s. By the 1980’s breast augmentation was the second most popular plastic surgery (after liposuction), and the motto seemed to be “the bigger the better�. The oversized implants seen everywhere in the popular media in the 80’s and 90’s clearly served to alter the public’s perception of what breasts are supposed to look like: large, taut and high. The kind of breasts that formerly appeared only in cartoons.

Today, breast augmentation is more popular than ever. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons 329,000 breast augmentation surgeries were performed in 2006. This is an almost 30 percent increase from 2003. But reason is beginning to prevail again, and patients and the public are ‘rediscovering’ the fact that the aesthetic ideal for the female breast is soft, supple, much fuller in the lower than the upper pole, and in proportion to the rest of a woman’s figure.

Patient demographics are changing, too. Women in their 30’s and 40’s (especially moms) are the fastest growing group of patients seeking breast augmentation today. These are women who have lost breast volume following pregnancy and lactation, and who simply seek to restore a natural, more youthful breast contour. They don’t want to look like they’ve had surgery; they instead wish to ‘fill out’ clothing better and feel more comfortable out of clothing. Even women who have not had children are opting for smaller, more realistic appearing breast augmentation. Professional women (including physicians!) want to look their best, but they don’t want to look “done�.

“It is very common in my practice to perform an enhancement that changes the breast profile from and ‘A’ cup to a ‘B’ cup,� says Dr. Michael Law, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Raleigh, NC, formerly of Beverly Hills. “I rarely have patients requesting large implants anymore, although there are still a few who express a desire for that busty, ‘done’ look. I counsel those patients that it is certainly possible to achieve that look, if it is truly what they want, but that I simply won’t perform any aesthetic surgery that doesn’t look natural. A woman with very large breast implants that doesn’t match her frame looks like a cartoon character, and that is not my aesthetic ideal. And these patients never have any problem finding someone who will give them the look that they want.

“Potential breast augmentation patients should also give serious thought to the following consideration: one great advantage of a conservative breast enhancement is that small implants are much more likely to feel natural. It is possible to provide an enhancement that is soft, supple and even undetectable (by touching) with a small implant, something that is never achieved with very large breast implants.
more:  http://www.sbwire.com/news/view/13207

Lipostabil, also known as the Flab Jab, is currently yet to receive a licence for cosmetic purposes in the UK due to a lack of clinical testing and concerns over its safety.

Lipostabil is licensed in Germany as a treatment for fat embolisms, where blood vessels become blocked by fat particles. However, it has been discovered that when injected directly into problem areas, such as a double chin or fat behind the knees, fat can be broken down and lost in those specific places.

 The treatment has even been demonstrated live on television on Channel 4’s Richard and Judy show. A guest was given two injections of Lipostabil two months apart and showed a marked improvement.

 However, the Flab Jab has already been banned in Brazil, the country where its usage as a cosmetic treatment was pioneered, due to links to skin infection and nerve damage.

In fact, Lipostabil’s manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis has warned that the drug is not designed to be administered subcutaneously, under the skin, and is not safe to be used for cosmetic purposes.

The Medical Defence Union and the Medical Practitioners Society, the UK’s two main medical insurers are currently refusing insurance to any doctors who continue to supply the treatment. Also, the MHRA, Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, who license drugs in the UK, have contacted over fifty clinics to order them not to advertise the treatment and doctors who don’t comply could face unlimited fines and potentially prison sentences. So it may be some time if ever that Lipostabil is offered in the UK as a fat loss solution.

By Lesley Thomas DAILY TELEGRAPH
9:14am BST 01/08/2007
 
Frank Sinatra advised in the song Wives and Lovers: “Don’t send him off, with your hair still in curlers. You may not see him again.”

However, it seems that British women couldn’t care less after a survey showed they are the least likely to put effort into their appearance for the sake of men.

They have the lowest levels of concern in the world for what husbands, boyfriends and other male observers might think, with only 51 per cent caring whether men liked their appearance, the study said.

Japanese women were second bottom with 53 per cent followed by Americans at 56 per cent.

advertisementIndian, Spanish and Korean women were far more worried about having a man’s seal of approval, but it was Russia which topped the poll of 10,000 women, with 77 per cent saying that they cared what their men thought.

Janet Saunders, of Clinique, the cosmetics company which commissioned the study, said: “British women like to feel confident and beautiful for their own pleasure and take pride in their outward appearance.” Susan Quilliam, a relationship psychologist said: “It’s a delicate balance. It’s a positive thing in an equal relationship to reference the other person’s tastes and preferences sometimes.”

The survey also showed that Britons are among the keenest on cosmetic surgery. Thirty five per cent of British women said they have gone, or are willing to go, under the knife for beauty.

Only Korean women were more likely to consider surgical enhancement, while just three per cent of Indian women condone it.

The survey also asked which of the 12 countries polled had the most beautiful women. Although most found their country’s own women the best looking, Britons rated Italian and Indian women more beautiful than themselves.