WalesOnline has revealed that the Welsh are using the NHS to get free plastic surgery. In fact, over 2000 patients in Wales last year alone underwent plastic surgery procedures, with everything from tummy tucks to ear pinning, facelifts and nose jobs on the list of operations.

In addition to this, Welsh hospitals have insisted that procedures funded by the NHS are not done solely for cosmetic reasons, leading many to debate whether men and women are simply ‘milking’ the organisation, or whether they are in fact suffering at the hands of their body-image.

Interestingly, the rising demands for plastic surgery don’t seem to have been curbed by the recent NHS cuts, which will see a reduction in funds of 11% over the coming years.

The cost of these cosmetic procedures last year alone cost the tax payer roughly £3.25 million – a sum that many would be shocked to learn the NHS would allow.

The freedom of information request also revealed that between 2008 and 2010, 777 women in Wales had a breast augmentation, breast reduction or breast lift. There were also 463 pinnaplasties, with numerous children having undergone this procedure after suffering at the hands of bullies at school.

Of the 777 breast related procedures, over half were estimated to be reductions due to the pain that large breasts can cause patients.

Whatever your opinion on NHS funding, one thing is certain: an increasing number of people are so badly affected by their physical appearance that doctors genuinely see the need for them to alter their bodies.

Pressure from society? Genuine and warranted body image concerns? Let us know what you think below.

The world of cosmetic surgery is constantly changing and improving, as are the attitudes towards it. More and more women and men are pursuing plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures as a solution to their body confidence woes, and with so many people widely trying to change their looks the procedures are becoming widely accepted by society.

This has been proven recently with a survey done by The Hospital Group, whereby they discovered that only 12% would keep their plastic surgery a secret.

Their first week of presenting the survey returned nearly 200 responses, finding that 45% would tell family and friends, 37% would tell everyone, and 12% wouldn’t tell anyone.

It shows that people are more open to not only changing their looks with surgery, but to admitting the procedures to people they know – meaning surgery is indeed losing the bad reputation it once had.

According to a study published in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery publication elderly patients are no more at risk of complications during facelift surgery than younger patients.

The Cleveland Clinic’s Esteban Marten, M.D., M.P.H., and his colleagues performed the study into whether chronological age increases the risk of complications during this plastic surgery procedure, basing their findings on the outcomes of facelifts performed on 216 elderly patients, of which 148 were under 65 and 68 of them were 65 or older.

The study found that both groups had similar findings, with no deaths occurring in any of the patients studied.

The interesting findings are encouraging to many older prospective patients, who may have otherwise decided not to have this elective surgery, further demonstrating that plastic surgery is steadily improving its safety and recovery rates.

As Oprah’s TV reign came to an end on Wednesday 25th May 2011, American’s have looked back over all her shows throughout the last 25 years and voted her November 1988 show as the best ever.

Oprah by Alan Light

This particular episode showed Oprah Winfrey demonstrating how much weight she’d lost by pulling a wagon-load of fatty meats that weighed exactly what she’d shed. This shocking demonstration, which she struggled to lift, inspired thousands to try dieting again.

Sadly Oprah didn’t maintain her weight loss, with her famously fluctuating from fat to thin and back to fat over the past two and a half decades. This yo-yo dieting and exercise regime prompted her to say, ‘I’ve been ripped to shreds eight ways from Sunday for my weight.’

Oprah’s shows often dealt with inspirational weight-loss stories, with Kirstie Alley also appearing several times to discuss her yo-yo weight losses and gains. In fact, Kirstie Alley’s bikini reveal show ranked in the top 5 favourite Oprah episodes, showing that people really do like to see a good weight loss success story.

However, each of these women gained the weight back that they’d lost, and although Kirstie Alley is currently slimming down for her appearance on America’s Dancing with the Stars, many are wondering how long it will last for.

This has prompted experts at the Hospital Group, leading provider of Plastic Surgery in the UK, to say: “Oprah, Kirstie Alley and numerous other celebrities have succeeded in losing weight with rigorous diet and exercise regimes.  However, such drastic weight loss can be difficult to maintain…The gastric band is a last resort for such patients, offering them a very real chance of long term success.”

Losing weight with a gastric band is gradual, effective and controllable, with the band being adjustable to ensure the entire weight loss process is manageable and sustainable. It reduces the size of the stomach for practical purposes, meaning the patient feels fuller for longer and makes it impossible for the patient to overeat, meaning the success rate of the gastric band is proven, considerable and extremely effective.

Shockingly, a new survey by the University of the West of England (UWE) has revealed that 30% of women would trade at least one year of their life for their ideal body weight and shape.

It’s a fact that most women aren’t satisfied with their bodies – a truth that’s leading to a consistent increase in plastic surgery around the world – but for women to trade years of their lives in order to obtain their perfect body image is rather concerning.

The study found that 16% of those questioned would trade one year of their life; 10% would trade between 2 and 5 years; and 3% would trade a whopping 6 years.

The dramatic findings demonstrate exactly how much pressure women feel to look good. Whether it’s because of pressure from society or health issues, a huge number of women are dissatisfied with their appearance: 79% claiming they’d like to lose weight and 465 saying they’d been ridiculed for their looks.

With this in mind, cosmetic surgery is surely a far more reasonable option than sacrificing years of your life? Some certainly seemed to agree, with 39% saying they’d actually like to have surgery to improve them aesthetically. 30% want more than one procedure performed, and 5% had already had plastic surgery.

The woman dubbed the ‘human barbie’, Sarah Burge, hit the headlines last year for teaching her six year old daughter, Poppy, to pole dance, and once again she’s back to her controversial ways. The 50 year old self confessed plastic surgery addict celebrated her daughter’s seventh birthday, allegedly giving her a £6,000 breast enlargement voucher.

The woman dubbed the ‘human barbie’, Sarah Burge, hit the headlines last year for teaching her six year old daughter, Poppy, to pole dance, and once again she’s back to her controversial ways. Having spent over £500,000 on her own cosmetic procedures, this small sum is just a drop in the ocean, and it’s sparked outrage that she would encourage an impressionable child to have a boob job long before she’s even begun developing.

Apparently Poppy ‘squealed with delight’ when she received the voucher, with her mother insisting that Poppy had ‘begged me for a boob job.’ Her gift was reasonable to a certain extent though, with Sarah ensuring Poppy understood that she could only use the voucher after she’s 16 and the procedure is legal. She went on to say: ‘If she develops naturally big boobs, she can have something else done with it.’

The gift was part of a £12,000 birthday package, dubbed as an ‘exotic pamper party’, for Poppy and all her friends, with them all being given makeovers, manicures and pedicures, whilst drinking non alcoholic champagne, putting on fake tattoos and eating a £250 designer cake.

Poppy’s hair extensions were topped off with a £300 dress for the party, prompting the debate: Are children growing up too fast?

The TV star mum of 8, Kate Gosselin, has used twitter and her recent TV episodes to endorse plastic surgery after pregnancy.

The super-fit mum owes her trim silhouette and washboard abs to plastic surgery procedures like the tummy tuck, and isn’t afraid to let the world know.

She tweeted recently: ‘Get through the first two weeks of pain and yuck and it’ll be the BEST decision you’ve ever made!’

Image courtesy of Wiki

She then went on to converse with fellow twitter friends, saying ‘And me! And Shannon I didn’t know you have TWO sets of twins! So tummy tuck is your best friend too!’

Although the pain can be bad, the end result is certainly worth it in Kate’s eyes, with her admitting that she ‘wokeup&thought wut have I done-til I saw results’

Having sextuplets certainly puts your body through its paces, and Kate underwent a tummy tuck which was shown in an earlier TV special in the States before Jon and Kate Plus 8 began to air. She also keeps in shape by exercising.

The world-famous supermodel and America’s Next Top Model judge, Janice Dickinson, lost her teeth.

It may sound strange but it seems she wears false teeth when she’s out an about, with her admission that she was reportedly ‘so excited talking to my friend that I put my teeth in my napkin and then I couldn’t find them!’ coming as quite a surprise to many of her fans.

She evidently paid a lot for them, eventually enlisting staff in the search for them. She said, ‘These things are so expensive they could feed a small village.’

The revelation has prompted cosmetic surgeons to reiterate the benefits of veneers – a cosmetic procedure that permanently improves the appearance of the teeth, rather than the temporary solution Ms Dickinson has opted for.

With veneers usually made of porcelain fitting over each individual tooth and uniquely made, the fit is perfect and they never have to be taken out. They’re a permanent fix to a crooked or yellow smile and there’s even a new pain free procedure on the market now.

Whereby veneers used to be custom made to fit teeth that had been filed down, the new style veneers are perfectly designed to fit over the tooth, keeping the tooth intact and avoiding the pain that usually comes with traditional veneers. This major development in cosmetic dentistry has an awfully large impact on one’s self esteem and self confidence, with many people admitting that it’s changed their life for the better.

With all her money, it’s a wonder Janice Dickinson is still opting for the removable false teeth usually associated with the elderly, especially considering their tendency to fall out or become loose – unlike the permanent veneer.

The world’s youngest ever gastric band patient is 10 year old Ksithjj Jindger. It may sound shocking, but often the ends justify the means and when you realise how big this poor boy was getting it certainly calls into question plastic surgery for children and parental responsibility.

The child was fed on calorie-rich, fatty foods since he was a baby…he weighed in at 8 stone at the age of 3…by the time he was 5 he weighed a shocking 14 stone.

The decision was made to treat this extreme problem with an extreme measure when he was just 9 1/2 and weighed in at a horrifying 20 stone.

Ksithjj’s parents visited their GP prior to the operation, who advised them, as would be expected, to ensure he goes on a diet and exercise programme. They went against this advice though, opting instead to go straight to the plastic surgery option of a gastric band.  A private surgeon in India agreed to operate and thankfully it was a success.

Although it may be extreme, this severely obese child has now dropped 9 stone in the first year, meaning he’s 11 stone at the age of 11. He’s lost his huge appetite and, gladly, he is no longer at risk of dying before he becomes an adult due to his weight.

The Hospital Group, a provider of cosmetic and weight loss surgery in the UK, explained their stance on the matter, stating that:

‘We only operate on over 18′s.  Weight-loss surgery is not normally carried out on teenagers under 16 in the UK and is certainly not advisable on someone so young.’

What do you think? Is it right for such drastic action to be taken in a situation like this?

Leave your comments below.

TPT in 2007 by Andy Titcomb

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 39, had a three-hour operation on Wednesday at a Harley Street Clinic to reconstruct her cocaine-damaged nose.

The star famously snorted so much cocaine in her heyday that her septum wasted away, and she recently made the decision to go under the knife once again after worrying about last month’s Royal Wedding appearance, whereby she wore a stunning blue number to detract from her declining nose.

In 2006 she had a similar operation, using cartilage from her ear to replace the septum she had lost. It didn’t prove strong enough though and soon collapsed. This time, the 007 of the surgery world, Dr East, used cartilage from one of her ribs.

Tara was said to be recovering at her West London home where she was being cared for by her mother, and is said to be ‘over the moon with her new nose’ according to a friend of hers. They went on to say, ‘She plans to stay at home for the next fortnight just to make sure she doesn’t damage it, but she is so happy.’

Wayne Rooney in 2009 by Jacoplane

Wayne Rooney has added his name to the ever-growing list of celebrity men having hair transplants. The impressive hairdo, said to have set him back £32,000, has been a long time coming, with Rooney’s bald patch increasing dramatically over the past few years. The football star seems over the moon with the result: “I’m delighted with the result,” he said, adding that ‘It’s still a bit bruised and swollen.’

No surprise there then! A hair transplant is a complex procedure, with upwards of 4500 hair follicles being transplanted individually into the scalp.

Gordon Ramsay’s treatment is also said to have set him back £30,000 – the effects of which are extremely impressive. His long blonde hair is the talk of many housewives all over the UK.

So how does it work?

Well, little strips of skin are taken from the back of your head, which is immune to the balding process, and they’re then dissected into each individual hair follicle and these are then transplanted onto the balding skin. Typically, a team of 18 people work on this for up to eight hours, with everyone ensuring that the hair is kept alive when deprived of oxygen outside of the body. Getting it back into the body as quickly as possible is the key to a successful hair transplant.

It’s not said to hurt, with doctors insisting that patients feel a sting when the local anesthetic is injected into the scalp and that they sit watching DVDs and enjoying themselves whilst the transplant is taking place.

Professor Messenger said, ‘If the procedure has been carried out by a decent surgeon, I would probably not be able to tell without a close examination.’

Rooney’s surgeon at the Harley Street Hair Clinic performed the newest form of transplant on his scalp: follicular unit extraction (FUE), which leaves no scars, allowing the Manchester United and England star to show off his new hair within seven days.