Rubicon Medical Cosmetic Surgery Blog

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Twiggy Olay Ad Banned For Over Airbrushing

2009-12-16T02:36:00.000-08:00

An advert for Olay featuring the 60 year old supermodel Twiggy has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency.

It features a clearly airbrushed Twiggy which the watchdog said "could give consumers a misleading impression of the effect the product could achieve." This was particularly in evidence around the eye area when compared to recent photos of the slender model.

Generally people realise that airbrushing takes place on most, if not all, advertising campaigns but the degree to which this photo was touched up was quite alarming. At 60 years of age, no one would realisticly expect a woman to have so few lines around her eyes without surgery and it is felt they could have presented her more naturally.

For her age, Twiggy looks fairly good even without the retouching. However if she wanted to achieve a smoother look without resorting to editing wizardy or even cosmetic surgery, there are several non surgical procedures she could use to help iron out the creases.

Fillers such as restylane can be used to plump out deep creases giving a fuller, more youthful appearance while botox if applied discriminately can soften the signs of aging such as crows feet around the eyes, rather than give a frozen look. Peels can also assist in lessening the depth of wrinkles and producing smoother, rejuvenated skin.

Get Firmer Boobs With Botox

2009-11-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

For a while now Botox has been used to treat more than just crows feet, ranging from an aid to migraines to a treatment for sore feet in diabetics. But now it seems botox can even be used to give women, particularly post pregnancy women, firmer boobs.

Dubbed "breastox", injections of the toxin are put into the minor pectoralis muscles on the chest. To compensate, the back muscles take over and become stronger, resulting in the breasts being lifted - sort of like the shoulder straps of a bra being pulled tight.

The botox also helps to smooth out any lines or creases around the bust caused by sun damage, creating an all round perter more youthful appearance. It is for use on those in their 20´s and 30´s with a size A or B cup. However it does seem slightly redundant as the majority of women who tend to need an uplift are those who are more mature with larger breasts.

Anyway at £1,000 a pop it is possibly not for everyone and certainly should not be considered a replacement for breast uplift surgery which can offer longer term benefits.

New Plastic Surgery Law Named After Kanye West's Mum

2009-11-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

A new plastic surgery law in the States has been named after Kanye West's deceased mum, Donda West. In 2007, she sadly passed away from complications following breast reduction and tummy tuck surgery.

The Donda West Law, ratified in mid October and signed by California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, means that all patients undergoing plastic surgery in California must undergo a physical check-up within 30 days prior to the operation.

This ensures all patients in the State cannot undergo plastic and cosmetic surgery without getting medical clearance first. Rapper Kanye West was said to be pleased that something positive from his mother's early demise.

Massive Increase in Men Having Breast Reduction Surgery

2009-09-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

The number of men undergoing breast reduction surgery has increased by over 1000 percent over the last five years.

It is thought this is because in the past the stigma of having "man boobs" has prevented many men from coming forward. As plastic and cosmetic surgery has become more and more acceptable many middle-aged and elderly men who have hidden their problem for years are now having the operation done.

Increased breast tissue in men or gynecomastia as it is know is incredibly common in young boys going through puberty, affecting up to 60 percent. Roughly half will see this disappear as their hormones settle and they lose their puppy fat.

For the rest however this can be an issue that causes incredible embarassment. Yet now thanks to modern cosmetic surgery is a condition that can be easily rectified.

These recent figures were released by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) at the start of their recent annual conference.

X Factor's Danni Minogue Vows to Cut Down on the Botox

2009-08-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

The X Factor got off to a flying start this weekend with one noticeable difference on the part of one of the judges.

Danni Minogue has claimed that this time around she will forego the botox injections that have kept her face looking wrinkle free because of criticism that she had appeared expressionless in the last series.

In an interview with Grazia she said: "I can see what people see, but I have to say that while I have been open about doing it [botox], I'm not doing it now. For the X Factor it is actually quite useful to be able to have facial expressions!"

Although there may not have appeared to have been much of a change in Miss Minogue's pallet of expressions on Saturday night, this it most likely because it takes several months for the effects to wear off.

However having botox injections does not necessarily result in having a totally frozen face - it is dependant on how much is put in. For those that have particular trouble areas such as severe frown lines or crows feet, injections just in those areas can radically soften the face and give a more youthful experience WITHOUT restricting mobility in the entire face.

Holidaymakers Opt For Airbrushed Cosmetic Surgery

2009-08-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

For British holidaymakers wanting to be picture picture this year, rather then resorting to actual cosmetic surgery they're opting for an altogether more Hollywood style solution. According to a report in The Times online, the high street photographic chain Snappy Snaps has experienced a 550% increase in people wanting airbrushing on the holiday photos.

Instead of having a breast enlargement, tummy tuck or lip implants people are requesting these phsyical changes be added onto their snaps post-vacation with high street stores charging around £15 for the privilege. Alternatively people can do the alterations at home on their on computers with software such as Adobe Photoshop, while Kodak has launched an airbrush plug-in specifically for touching up photos.

This craze is considered to be down to the increase in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook where users are keen to project the right image of themselves. The problem of course comes when reality does not match up to the image.

To read The Times article in full click here

How Safe Are Sunbeds?

2009-08-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

It has been known for many years that sunbeds aren't the healthiest of beauty treatments but recent research has just seriously upped the ante. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) who have previously stated a probable link between skin cancer and tanning beds, have now upgraded the severity of the connection to a definite link.

As more and more of the younger generation are striving for the perfect tan and the popularity of tanning salons has soared, the agency warns that teens are putting themselves at as much as a 75 percent greater risk of forming melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In fact the agency now compares the use of sunbeds to heavy smoking or exposure to asbestos and warns that there could even be a possible connection to the development of eye cancer.

These days there are fantastic alternatives available in the form of spray tans and creams that simulate perfectly the deep glow of summer vacation so why are teenagers and adults still unnecessarily put themselves at risk?

As if that was incentive enough, overuse of sunbeds is also prematurely aging for the skin especially around the delicate eye area where crows feet can appear. Cosmetic surgeons regularly see women who's skin has been damaged by excessive exposure to UV light and for them the only solutions are procedures such as facial peels (like as the Rubicon Moulding Mask), botox injections or in more extreme cases eye lift and face lift surgery.

Cosmetic Surgery To Beat the Mid-Life Blues

2009-07-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

In an age when it's common place to see a 50-year-old Madonna cavorting in a leotard and celebrity mum's like Jade Jagger and The Duchess of York hitting the town with their daughters, Times journalist Carole Midgley observes that cosmetic surgery is a part of this new female attitude.

The article titled "Tattoos, tummy tucks and miniskirts" details that like the traditional male stereotype of a mid-life crisis complete with sports car, leather pants and ponytail, middle-aged women are now having their own very public version of this rite of passage.

Migley's main point was that women shouldn't strive to emulate a male stereotype that has always been much maligned. However, Migley does concede that it is encouraging to find women able to express themselves in a way that may not have been possible 20 or so years ago.

For many women this increased confidence may be in part due to cosmetic surgery. Procedures such as the arm lift to reduce 'bingo wings', and the breast uplift which returns the breast to higher, firmer position, are just two such operations which can help to restore a more youthful appearance.

To read The Times article in full click here

Twins Spend £60K On Cosmetic Surgery To Look The Same

2009-07-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Cosmetic surgery fans and identical twins, Jo and Kerry Burton, 34, have made sure everyone continues to see double by having exactly the same cosmetic procedures done simultaneously.

The story in The Daily Mail revealed that the twins have invested a staggering £60,000 to enhance their looks, which started when they were 21 years old. When Jo decided to have a rhinoplasty, Kerry joined her so they could stay looking the same. From there they have progressed to breast enlargement, eye lift surgery, Botox injections and permanent make-up tattoos.

Before being operated on they even had to have their names written on their stomachs so the surgeon could tell them apart. The twins say they do everything together and would hate to look different, so they will continue to have the same surgery done.

For the full story in The Daily Mail click here

Fear of Rejection Linked To Cosmetic Surgery

2009-07-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have discovered that those of us who are more sensitive to rejection based on our looks have a greater likelihood of seeking out cosmetic surgery.

The study begins with an overview of some pretty astounding figures from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In it states that since 1997 there has been an increase of 457% in the amount of cosmetic procedures taking place, with a massive 11.7 million undertaken in 2007 alone. Of those 10.6 million were on women. Keen to find out why people do these, several studies have been undertaken over the years of which this is the latest.

In the study the researchers asked 133 American college students to write an essay on a past comment they had received about their appearance, be it negative or positive. Those who had high "appearance-based rejection sensitivity" expressed a greater desire for cosmetic surgery when recalling a negative comment then those who had low sensitivity. This was even compared against other key psychological variables such as overall self-esteem and self-perceived attractiveness.

Interestingly when recalling positive comments from others, the subjects generally referred to their appearance as a whole. However negative comments concentrated predominantly on body weight, shape and size.

Jessie Wallace Loses lbs On LifeChanging Diet

2009-07-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Jessie Wallace has dropped 2 stone in weight in just 6 weeks on what she describes as a "life-changing" diet.

In an interview with Reveal magazine, the ex-Eastenders star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant says she owes her new size 10 figure to an eating and exercise regime set out by personal trainers Paul Ellis and Tom Stockwell.

The 5ft 2 ins actress lost the weight by cutting out all dairy, wheat and alcohol and replacing it with plenty of fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds, as well as regular trips to the gym and bouts of running.

Jessie, 37, was initially spurred into action after seeing herself on the Strictly series, describing the experience like looking at a "big bear" and a "butch Barbara Cartland".

For those who have tried every diet going, including this one, and are still struggling to lose the weight, alternative options like the gastric balloon or gastric band may be more suited. TV presenter Fern Britton has credited her dramatic weight loss and svelte new figure to the gastric band.

Click here to arrange an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon to discuss different means of weight loss.

Free Liposuction On The NHS

2009-07-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

Over two thousand UK patients have received free cosmetic surgery on the NHS over the past year it's been revealed. Figures from the NHS Information Centre show that £5.7million was spent giving liposuction (alson known as liposculpture) to 471 people and surgeries such as breast reductions, tummy tucks and rhinoplasty to over 1,600 patients.

Free cosmetic surgery on the NHS though is tightly restricted and only offered to those who need it for medical or reconstructive purposes or because it is severaly impacting their mental health. It is not offered purely for cosmetic reasons.

For instance the rise in liposuction procedures is in part due to a condition known as lipodystrophy syndrome in which areas of fat are lost in one area and reappear in other areas such as the neck, a side effect of some HIV medicines.

Botox to Relieve Foot Pain in Diabetics

2009-07-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Doctors in Taiwan may have discovered another use for botox besides the wide list of cosmetic and medical complaints it is already used for. In the past diabetics who have suffered chronic foot pain due to nerve damage as a result of their illness, have been offered very little relief. Now a team at Taipei Medical University may have found a way to alleviate at least some of the discomfort.

The study comprised of 18 Type 2 diabetics who were each asked at the start to rate their level of pain between 0-10 ,with the average result coming out at 6.36. The group were then split in two and half given botulinum toxin type A injections and half given saline. A few weeks into the study 12 were crossed over so that they were receiving the opposite treatment. The intradermal botox injections were placed in 12 sites across the top of the foot.

At the end of the 12 weeks, all those patients who had received botox had an average reduction in score of 2.53 points compared to 0.53 for those who solely had the saline injections. Within 12 weeks of the injections, 44 percent of the botox patients had reduced this further to 3 points less. An additional positive side effect was that they reported being able to sleep better (possibly because they were no longer in such pain).

This treatment is still in evaluation to discover optimum dosage and other related factors.

If you would be interested in botox injections to treat wrinkles click here.

Cosmetic Surgery & The Halo Effect

2009-06-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

by Michelle Elkins

Having cosmetic surgery like breast enlargement and rhinoplasty not only improves external appearances but can help to give a confidence boost. Could this be down to more than just a personal change in attitude however?

According to decades of research a phenomenon known as the "halo effect" could be responsible. When we look at those who are phsycially blessed, unconsciously we bestow them with a whole gamut of internal positive qualities as well.

The effect means that good-looking people are considered to be healthier, nicer, smarter and more trustworthy, while others feel more disposed to help them. Employers are more likely to take them over another applicant, all other things being equal, while beautiful people tend to have greater success at work and are better financially rewarded.

The connection was first established by American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike who provided empirical research to back up the halo effect in a study he published in 1920. In it he asked a group of commanding officers to rate the soldiers in their charge. He established that there was an unconscious bias towards seeing the individuals as either entirely good or bad, whereby the perception of one particular trait can influence the perception of that person as a whole.

As a person's physical appearance is usually the first major trait people pick up on, this is often the most influential and is why celebrities and models are used to endorse products. This doesn't mean that negatives attributes will not be taken into account, it may just take a little longer for those traits to be acknowledged as people considered more attractive are given a greater benefit of the doubt.

Unfortunately though we are all guilty of doing this to some degree or another because the effect is unconscious so we are unaware of when it is happening. Even when it is pointed out, most people are unable to accept that their positive (or negative in the case of the reverse halo effect) perception coloured their whole view of someone.

This was discovered by social psychologist Richard Nisbett in a study in the 1970s. In it a group of students were split in two where one group was shown a video of a lecturer who was friendly and pro-student and the second group viewed a video of the same lecturer but using a cold, harsh manner. They were then asked to rate the lecturer on the way that he looked among other things and unsurprisingly the second group considered the lecturer to be far less attractive.

However when the students were told about the study, most refused to accept that their judgement of the lecturer's appearance was based purely on that and not on their perception of his other characteristics. On the plus side it does show that a winning personality can go a considerable way to raising your attractiveness stakes.

Click here if you would like to make an appointment to see a cosmetic surgeon.

Could Nipple Surgery Be The New Boob Job?

2009-06-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

It appears attitudes to breast surgery may be changing and heading in an altogether perkier direction. Nipple surgery looks set to be the next big thing as stars like Victoria Beckham spark the trend for glass-cutting attributes.

Rather than size, when it comes to breast enlargement women are becoming more concerned with appearance and shape then having enormous breasts, and to top it off they want the perfect nipples too. Over the last 12 months Harley Medical Group has reported an increase of 30 percent of procedures of this nature and sales of prosthetic nipples have risen.

But why is there this sudden upsurge for this kind of surgery?

In an article in The Daily Mail, cosmetic surgeon Riccardo Frati (who works with Rubicon Medical & Harley Medical Group) said: 'Until now celebrities didn't expose their nipples so they were no "nipple role models". In the past I've had patients coming to my surgery clutching pictures of celebrities like Katie Price and saying: "I'd like breasts like hers" but now there's a chance that Mrs Beckham's designer nipples could be the next big thing for 2009'.

While surgery can be used to lift and push out the nipple to make it more prominent giving a younger and perkier look, it can also be used to correct inverted nipples which affects approximately 1.5 million British women.

To read the full article click here or to speak to a surgeon about nipple surgery click here.

Botox & Its' Many Uses

2009-06-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

If you thought Botox was just to stop wrinkles, think again.

In an article on The Mirror.co.uk, Dr Miriam Stoppard revealed just how amazing this treatment derived from the one of the deadliest substance know to man is and how it is helping to transform the lives on more than just a purely aesthetic level.

In fact the list is extensive and only now is the benefits of botox really starting to come into its' own - from helping to control spasms in those with Parkinsons or stroke victims to improving symptoms of incontinence, excess sweating and relief from back pain, prostate problems and tension headaches.

Other purely cosmetic functions of botox are thought to be that it can lessen the effects of facial scarring if used during the healing process and could be a cure to hair loss. While this is still in the very early stages, the theory behind it is that botox relaxes the shrunken hair follicles which makes the blood vessels dilate and encourages nutrients to the area to help stimulate growth.

To read more about this article click here or to arrange an appointment to speak to a cosmetic surgeon about botox injections click here.

Breast Enlargement: The Pros & Cons

2009-05-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

by Michelle Elkins

Last year around 8,000 women in the UK took the plunge and underwent breast enlargement surgery. Despite the credit crunch, that amounts to a 30 percent increase on the previous year for the amount of ladies prepared to pay out for breast augmentation, proving that when it comes to looking good, money is no obstacle. For those yet to take the plunge but seriously considering a breast increase, then here are some facts to help you make an informed choice about whether to proceed with a boob job.

How can a breast enlargement operation help?

There are several ways in which a plastic surgery boob job can help. The most obvious way is simply that it enables an increase in the natural size of the bust to one that can give greater self confidence. But this is just one way in which brest augmentation can help.

For women who have gone through child birth and breast feeding or who have undergone extreme, rapid weightless, it can leave previously perfect breasts looking like deflated balloons. This lack of volume combined with sagging can be distressing. With breast implants the fullness of the breasts can be restored and give an uplifting effect to the breasts so there is greater projection and shape.

In other occasions it can be used to give symmetry to an uneven breast line where one may have developed more than the other or act as replacement for women who have had to undergo a mastectomy due to breast cancer.

What are breast implants made of?

Breasts implants are primarily made of two substances: saline or silicone. Saline implants are constituted of a saline liquid in a silicone shell, while modern silicone implants are full of a viscous gel. This means that they can be quite literally cut in half without leakage.

How are the breast implants inserted?

Firstly the surgeon will decide where the breast implants should be placed; either behind or in front of the pectoralis muscle. For those who are small chested it is advisable to have sub muscular placement as it softens the outline of the implant. Secondly you and your surgeon will decide together where you would like the incision to be made. The three main areas are underneath the breast, through the armpit or around the areola.

The breast surgeon will cut along the chosen incision area and use a cautery device to separate breast tissue from the pectoralis muscle, before creating a pocket for the implant to go into using their fingers and a breast dissector.

What is the recovery time for a boob job?

Overall recovery time is between 4 and 6 weeks during which time no heavy lifting should be done or exercise undertaken which could jerk or move the implant placement. This includes driving and is necessary to ensure the best results. The change will be immediately obvious, however the final results may not be clearly visible for at least a year by which time all swelling should have gone done and they should have settled into position.

What should I expect to pay for breast implant surgery?

The cost of breast augmentation can vary greatly but as a rough guide breast enlargement prices start range from between £3,000 to £4,500.

Are there any risks involved?

As with any surgery, cosmetic or otherwise, there are always risks involved. Breast enlargement complications can include bleeding and infection, although antibiotics can often be enough to clear this up. If capsular contracture occurs, where fibrous scar tissue contracts around the implant and makes it hard causing discomfort, then surgery will be needed.

How do you choose a breast enlargement surgeon?

Selecting a breast surgeon is very much an individual decision as you need to find someone you feel comfortable with and who has your trust. Take a look at past work they have done to see if it matches your expectations and check that they are registered with a board such as the General Medical Council.

Welcome to our news section

2009-01-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our brand new section including the most relevant news on Rubicon Medical.
Soon we will be publishing more articles on this section.