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From Bust Til Dawn: 2017 The Year of the “Twighlight Tweakment”
Nip tucks performed under sedation set to be hottest 2017 cosmetic surgery trend, predicts Plastic Surgery Group as 9 out of 10 patients opt to have facelifting surgery under local anaesthetic.
If the buzzword on the lips of beauty editors in 2016 was non-surgical “tweakments” – a new wave of cosmetic procedures promising more subtle and natural results – then its 2017 counterpart looks set to be the “Twighlight Tweakment”, that’s according to one of the UK’s leading groups of plastic surgeons, The Plastic Surgery Group.
Taking the concept of the minimalist enhancement a step further and extending its reach into the world of cosmetic surgery, the Twighlight Tweakment refers to walk-in, walk-out procedures which are performed under sedation or local anaesthetic, have reduced downtime and offer safer and more natural results.
In 2016, TPSG surgeons have seen a huge increase in the demand for procedures done under local anaesthetic. The biggest shift has been in facelifting surgery - in the second half of 2016, the majority of TPSG facelifts were done under local anaesthetic. Of the facelifts booked for 2017, only 1 in 10 have opted to have their surgery under general anaesthetic.
The Plastic Surgery Group, which was founded by a collective of expert surgeons who are all full members of the British Association of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, has predicted that in 2017 we will see more cosmetic surgery procedures done this way as well as a shift towards smaller, more understated implants.
Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mo Akhavani comments, “North Americans have been doing office-based procedures under local for many years as it's more cost effective. We in Britain are always 10 years or so behind our American colleagues but there has been a culture shift and our understanding of ambulatory patient pathways in surgery has improved over the past few years. Instead of being admitted to hospital many patients can be safely treated and discharged the same day.”
Dan Marsh confirms "Of all the surgeries I carried out in 2016, fewer than 10% of my patients stayed overnight in hospital following their surgery. This is a paradigm shift from the old days and has huge benefits in terms of patient safety, comfort and recovery"
Operations under local anaesthetic are safer, cheaper and have less post-operative nausea. Because the patient remains awake and alert during the procedure, they are able to recover much quicker than if they were completely knocked unconscious under general anaesthetic. There is also no need for them to starve or avoid certain medications before their op if they are having it under local or sedation. Undergoing a general anaesthetic is widely acknowledged as one of the biggest risk factors of having elective surgery and is something that makes many people afraid to go under the knife. Having a procedure under local removes this risk as well as removing the need for a hospital stay and, in many cases, means the patient can be back to their normal routine within a couple of hours of the procedure.
Procedures that can be done under local include the short scar breast augmentation. Consultant plastic surgeon Dan Marsh explains, “An incision is made in the crease under the breast. The incision we use is a tiny 3 cm compared to the traditional 5-6cm. We use something called the Keller Funnel which allows for this smaller incision and reduces the risk of biofilm formation (which causes capsular contracture or hardening of the implant). It also reduces the risk of ALCL (rare lymphoma associated with breast implants and possibly due to biofilm). The surgery time is shorter surgery and for the patient there is less scarring and a faster recovery.”
Standing small
Along with procedures being done under local anaesthetic the other trend the group is predicting is that, when it comes to breasts, everything is getting smaller – including the nipples. As the wellness movement strengthens, the body type become more desired is a lean and healthy one and that means that over inflated chests are out.
“Smaller implants and nipples are definitely a trend”, says Mo Akhavani. “Over the last 20 years everyone wanted massive implants. That was " the look", however, we now understand more about large implants and their detrimental effects on chest wall contouring and remodeling as well as breast tissue atrophy.
“The biggest group of women now having breast augmentation are women after childbirth. These women don’t want huge breasts; they just want to restore their breast to how they were. 95% of our patients state they want the ‘natural’ look.
“Furthermore, the new body look now is the ultra-toned, shredded athletic type – just look at Instagram and see how many thousands of women add photos of them doing weights etc. Smaller nipples and implants compliment this new trend of lean body.”
In fact the smaller nipple trend is something the Plastic Surgery Group has researched specifically.
Dan Marsh explains, “We have seen a 30% rise in women requesting a smaller nipple size in the last year. This is tied into the trend towards smaller breast augmentation sizes. The average size is now 250-300cc (approx D-C cup) compared with 350-400cc (Double DD or E cup) several years ago.”
No ifs, just butts
One thing that is definitely not getting smaller however is butts. During 2016 the plastic surgery group have seen a significant growth in the number of patients seeking buttock augmentation. The most popular request seems to be "Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL)" which combines liposuction and body contouring with buttock augmentation. In the second half of 2016 TSPG saw a 500% increase in consultations for this procedure. Driven perhaps by live snapchat surgeries, big butts are here to stay. TPSG are one of the few UK groups to combine SAFE liposuction with the butt-o-matic fat injection method to safely harvest and inject fat as part of the Brazilian butt lift procedure.
The Plastic Surgery Group predicts that the trend for voluptuous bottoms is set to continue into 2017. With curvy celebs like J-Lo, Beyonce and of course the Kardashian clan making the big bum popular, surgeons are seeing more requests for fat grafting in this area, a procedure that’s been popular in Brazil for decades. Mo Akhavani says, “South Americans, who developed the Brazilian Butt Lift been doing it for years, however reality stars like Kardashian are making it more main stream.”
Twighlight tweakments are here to stay and have proven benefits in terms of patient safety, faster recovery, fewer signs of surgery and better surgical outcomes.