Female
patient before,...
...3
months after facelift...
The logical scientific term
for a surgical makeover of the face would be prosopoplasty (from ‚prosopon',
the Ancient Greek word for face). Yet, even some medical scientists fail to
understand the meaning of the term. That is why we stick to the more
popular-scientific name of "face-styling", even though the cosmetic industry
could make their claim on it.
The face is nowadays
considered to consist of five different levels and four deeper layers on
which plastic surgery can be conducted. A combination of various techniques
can reduce the aggressiveness of each single method and it reduces the
potential for risks and complications which leads to greater, longer lasting
effects. Even the recovery phase can be reduced.
Different patients will
find different disharmonic, or tired features in different parts of their
faces. Some patients will only pay attention to certain parts of their face
while overlooking other features prone to improvement.
Some patients want to start
with minor surgeries, upper eye lids, for example. Having passed their first
surgery successfully, they eventually present their entire "wish list".
Plastic surgeons should
only support the decision of a patient to undergo plastic surgery if they
can reasonably expect a noticeable improvement of the current state of
appearance.
It is crucial to consider
the patient's personal criticism: What exactly bothers him/ her when looking
into the mirror? Plastic surgeons must keep an open ear to their patients'
wishes. At the same time they must show competence by informing the patient
about the different methods in modern plastic surgery, about different ways
to achieve a fresh, more dynamic and harmonic appearance. Just like a
conductor, the surgeon can orchestrate various method applications on the
face. The final decision, however, about what should be done and how much
should be done, must remain with the patient.
Of all methods which can be
applied and combined like pieces of a puzzle, the transfer of body fat into
the face (according to the new method by Guerrerosantos/Coleman) should
receive extra attention. Fat transfer not only compensates a lack of volume.
A person's own body fat seems to take a natural rejuvenation effect on the
skin. This might be explained by the fact that fat carries traces of the
female hormone oestrogen which is a well-known natural "beautifier".
Wrinkles on the hands often
reveal the secret of artistically conducted face-lifts. However, even the
skin on the back of the hand can be upholstered by body fat transfer. Its
smoothness will be increased similar to the effects of lifting surgery.
Various TV-channels have
recently introduced US productions called "Extreme makeover" or, even more
radical, a series called "Swan" where participants receive surgical
makeovers copying their personal celebrity favourites, actors, singers,
models.
Every decent plastic
surgeon will dismiss this trend: We do not want to create humanoid
falsificates. The German private TV Channel RTL is planning a series on
cosmetic surgery which is due to start this autumn. The title itself is
terrifying: "Everything is possible" ("Alles ist möglich")
One can easily imagine that
some people feel under threat: the increasing impact of aestheticism in our
society can lead to "beauty totalitarianism". We have to keep in mind that
all those wonderful bodies and faces which the fashion and advertisement
industry present to us have been digitally modified to perfection. They are,
in other words, manipulated. Andreas Steinle, a Hamburg-based trend
researcher, concludes: "We seem to be entering competition with the
achievements of our own culture."
D.Panfilov
Hands
before and 1 year after "Handlifting" with her own fat tissue transfer
