By Plastic Surgeon Dr Dirk Kremer.

Plastic surgery: a fine line between innovation and excess 

Some things never really change, like the principle in plastic surgery to help patients feel more beautiful and more at ease with their bodies; but I'm always amazed at how trends appear in cosmetic surgery. As a plastic surgeon I love innovation and new procedures - which is why I created my own signature procedures. But sometimes plastic surgery goes overboard and starts attacking even the smallest "imperfection" and I think that's a shame. We all have our own beauty and I make sure with every one of my patients to highlight and enhance their original features through aesthetic surgery. There is nothing nice or pretty in being copycats, and small things like moles that can be considered by some as imperfections are what makes us unique. Surgery always carries a risk and I advise people to think carefully before undergoing surgery. Sometimes, gym or non-surgical procedures can be enough to solve your problem and help you look the way you want to look.

Here are some of the trends that are making the news lately:

Bum injections

For men! I’m all for equality between sexes and it is totally understandable that men would like to enhance their looks like women do. But bum injections… Personally, like I mentioned on the Alan Titchmarsh Show when we discussed fat transfer with Nadine Baggott, I don’t like fat injections in the bottocks, and hitting the gym would give you much better, long-lasting results.

Although the illicit bum injections phenomenon seems to happen mostly in the USA, please beware of black market injections where unqualified people inject you with unknown substances, very often industrial silicon which is toxic for the human body - the same thing (or worse) that was used in PIP implants… Non-medical silicon is much cheaper than safe, medically approved silicon if we speak in terms of money, but the price to pay is far too high when you risk losing limbs and ultimately your life.

Nipple reduction surgery

Well, it seems like nipple tattooing isn’t dead yet. I have mentioned this previously in my blog on newest trends in 2013 and I confirm what I said at the time: it seems like some people invent new concerns, and I still haven’t met patients who were worried about the size or shape of their areolas.

Breast reduction

Breast reduction is an increasingly popular procedure, used both by women with naturally big breasts and women who underwent ill-advised breast augmentation and were given implants too big for their figure. Plastic surgery is all about reaching a certain harmony, and a woman’s breast should be proportionate with her whole body. Breast reduction can have a lot of benefits on your health and reduction mammoplasty can change your life just as much as breast enlargement. A study was published this month on the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in which the benefits of breast reduction on health were recognised.

As always, what matters is that your plastic surgeon helps you feel good and feel better in your body. If you’re thinking of undergoing cosmetic surgery, don’t hesitate to contact me. And whatever you do, whoever you choose, make sure they are qualified, certified aesthetic surgeons whom you feel you can trust.