Cosmetic surgery is now more popular than ever with plenty of reality TV shows increasing public awareness about cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery procedures. Although in the past, cosmetic surgery was only available to the rich and famous, it is now becoming popular amongst the general public.
In this regular feature, WorkLife asks your questions about surgical and non-surgical procedures to offer you, our readers, the correct information and provide safer options.
Q: I’VE JUST BEEN DOING SOME RESEARCH ON HAVING SOME FILLERS IN MY FACE, AND IT SEEMS LIKE A MINEFIELD, AND THERE IS TOO MUCH CHOICE. CAN YOU POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
A. Unfortunately you have stumbled across the main problem when it comes to researching fillers, namely that there is so much choice. A dermal filler is a gel like substance that is injected to alleviate the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles, and also replace lost volume. They all share that as a common trait, but differ in two properties; what exactly they are made of, and how long they last.
Firstly, the actual make up of the filler. In years gone by, the only choice used to be collagen. Your body naturally produces collagen, so it was thought that it would be the best product to use. As the manufacturers started to understand how the product reacted in people, new materials started to be developed. You have hyaluronic acid (the most popular) which is again something your body naturally produces, calcium hydroxylapatite, hydrogel, poly-L-lactic acid... the list can be exhaustive and hard to pronounce. Nevertheless, the different products have different longevity of result because of the way they work.
Dr Ravi Agarwal M.B.B.S M.S. is Surgeon and Medical Director at Castlefield Clinic on St. John Street in Manchester.
With over 30 years of surgical experience in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, he has treated in excess of 20,000 patients.
This body of work puts him among the leading surgeons in the UK, and he is here to answer some of your questions.
This brings us to the second point of difference - how long the result lasts? Naturally occurring substances like collagen and hyaluronic acid last the shortest time, because the body is used to breaking these down every day. They have a place because they are extremely safe, have been used for the longest and are most widely used. The more synthetic products such as calcium hydroxylapatite, and hydrogel last longer because they are manufactured in such a way that it takes the body a lot longer to break them down. These products are again extremely safe, and have a few more diverse applications other than filling out wrinkles.
You choice of product should be a balance between the result you are looking for, and the longevity of the result. I would suggest that you let someone else do that hard work, and visit a practitioner who has narrowed the choice down for you. They will be in the best position to recommend a treatment, and avoid any feeling of confusion you may have.
Q: I REALLY WANT TO HAVE A BREAST ENLARGEMENT, BUT MY FRIEND HAD THEM, AND THEY HAVE GONE REALLY HARD AND PAINFUL. I CLEARLY DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, SO IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN STOP IT HAPPENING TO ME?
A. What your friend is experiencing is something called capsular contracture. This is the most common risk with breast enlargement. When an implant is inserted into the breast tissue, your body forms a capsule around it. Under normal circumstances, this capsule stays soft, so you cannot feel it, and the implant is protected. In about 10% of cases (some surgeons do have lower and higher rates) this capsule becomes hard, and starts to squeeze the implant. Your body is effectively trying to get rid of the foreign object. When this happens, it is quite painful. Unfortunately, there is no test that be done as yet that can tell a surgeon if this will happen or not, and the fact that it is happening is in no way the surgeon’s fault, it is merely your body’s natural reaction taking place.
There is, however, some hope. A new type of implant is now on the market that reduces the risk of capsular contracture to only 1%! That is a huge reduction of the risk. The implant has a polyurethane coating, and this coating allows the breast tissue to grow into it, so that the capsule that forms remains soft and supple. The upside to all of this is that there is now statistically a very small chance that you will go through what your friend is going through.
If you have any questions for Dr. Agarwal then you can email him at
castlefieldclinic@worklifemagazine.co.uk 14 - LIFE
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