For the second year in a row, male breast reduction surgery is the fastest growing plastic surgery procedure in England, the BBC News reports. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, 581 Brits suited up for slimmer chests in 2009, an 80 percent increase the year before. Meanwhile, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimates 18,000 men did the same in the U.S. in 2008, the last year for which data is available.

Some British surgeons speculate that men’s magazines flaunting male models with large pecs and six pack abs have inspired at least some individuals to undergo the procedure.

“Many men are feeling the pressure from men’s magazines that weren’t even being published five or six years ago,” London plastic surgeon Dr. Rajiv Grover told the BBC. “In addition, they are just realizing that they can get something done about it.”

The procedure itself generally utilizes liposuction technology, with a cut under the breast crease where fat is then suctioned out. In most cases the procedure only takes an hour with dissolvable stitches under general anesthesia. Patients may have to wear a compression vest to help shrink the skin for three weeks afterwards.

“Man boobs”, or “moobs” as they have recently been coined, are the result of gynecomastia, a condition marked by excess breast tissue in men. Causes range from obesity and weight gain to steroid and marijuana drug use, prescription drugs, and in rare cases, male breast cancer.

In many cases, there is nothing a man can do to reduce the size of his breasts on his own, because the condition is hereditary. “But if you’re a pot smoker and you are overweight, just changing your lifestyle may mean you wouldn’t need to have a breast reduction,” Dr. Sharon Rosenbaum-Smith, breast surgeon at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, told the NY Daily News.

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The cosmetic nip-and-tuck is hardly an exclusive American phenomenon, and a new show demonstrates this by focusing on plastic surgery in Ireland.

Presenter Caroline Morahan and plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Rey will co-host The Cosmetic Surgery Show: What A Load of Botox, set to premiere January 13 on Ireland’s TV3. The show offers glimpses into various cosmetic procedures – liposuction, Botox injections and breast augmentation, among others –as well as in-studio discussions of plastic surgery and public poll information. Morahan is an Irish actress best known for a five-year stint on the fashion show Off the Rails. Rey, a Hollywood surgeon, is a media veteran, having made dozens of appearances on shows including Dr. Phil, The Today Show, The View and Dr. 90210. Ironically, however, Dr. Rey is not board certified in plastic surgery.

The plastic surgery market abroad seems to be well in tune with today’s high American statistics. The United Kingdom alone sports some healthy figures, according to data from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. In 2008, association members performed 34,187 surgeries, a 5 percent increase over 2007. Of that number, a grand majority of these operations were performed on women – and the most popular choice was breast augmentation. Also, from 2007 to 2008, the tummy tuck saw a 30 percent increase in demand among both men and women, though males most often preferred rhinoplasty.

As in America, this rising rate shows no sign of receding. And so any show that delves into the growing trend of plastic surgery will certainly have good odds of having a sizable interested viewership. Whether the show will keep them is the question.

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We recently reported that breast reduction surgery is becoming more common among men in the Middle East. But, now it appears the procedure is gaining popularity among men in England as well.

Some surgeons call it a “moob job” – a procedure that reduces the size and flabbiness of male pectorals.

During the recent annual conference of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, presenters reported that male breast reduction surgery procedures have increased a thousand percent over the past five years. It’s currently the fifth most popular surgery among males in the UK, seen among men of all ages.

During the conference, surgeons speculated that since plastic surgery is now so common, a higher number of men are willing to request it on areas they had felt embarrassed about.

Earlier this summer, we reported that men in Dubai are 20 percent more likely to have breast reduction surgery then men in other regions. But the rising British trend could soon give the Middle East a run for its oil money.

Medical tourism is a rising trend in the world of plastic surgery. But, not all the tourists are coming home satisfied.

A recent internal survey by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons showed that doctors are seeing an increase in patients who have traveled abroad for low-cost cosmetic surgery, and later needed corrective work back in the United Kingdom.

The top five problem regions are reportedly South Africa, Poland, Belgium, Turkey and Thailand. A related study of medical tourism websites showed that 90 percent of the sites did not mention the possible risks or complications of surgery.

Thirty-nine percent of the sites did not include actual details about the surgery. And, more than half the foreign surgeons only offered consultation online or by telephone before an operation.

We spoke with UK plastic surgeon Dr. Patrick Mallucci about the challenges of medical tourism. The report noted that breast augmentation and tummy tucks are among the most popular procedures for medical tourists.

But the apparent lack of post-operative care leaves many patients from the UK needing extra help back home, placing a burden on Britain’s National Health System – and British taxpayers.

Organizations mentioned in this episode:

• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
• Food and Drug Administration
• Radiesse
• Dr. Caroline Glicksman
• Allergan
• Latisse
• Dr. Steven Yoelin
• Zhejiang Online

A group of unhappy facial cosmetic surgery patients in the UK are voicing their frustration over the lack of oversight in London’s cosmetic surgery industry, and they are demanding change.

The British paper The Times reported that six women are campaigning for more regulation of London’s cosmetic industry. These women have all suffered botched cosmetic filler procedures and say they are now disfigured.

Solicitor Paul Balen, who is representing the women, told the Times he believes there are many more victims just like them, but few fight back.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons released survey results showing that two out of five of its members had corrected complications caused by permanent filler injections. One in five surgeons, the survey showed, corrected problems caused during body contouring operations.

While British legislators look for ways to improve regulation of the cosmetic surgery industry in the UK, American patients who are considering injectable fillers or another cosmetic procedure should look at their doctor’s credentials to minimize their risk. Doctors who are board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery have undergone years of rigorous training and passed oral and written exams to ensure they are fully equipped to help patients achieve the best possible outcomes.

It’s no secret that gravity works. In fact, men and women spend millions of dollars a year on creams, treatments, devices and surgery because of this natural law.

So when a patient considers getting permanent injectable fillers, it’s important that the person administering the filler understand how skin ages, and can project what the filled area will look like years down the road.

No one believes that permanent fillers are the perfect solution for looking young forever, but it’s also important that the filler not create a distorted or malformed appearance for the patient, too.

A new survey by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons suggests that patients who choose permanent fillers experience more complications than those who select other types of fillers.

In fact, one in four UK surgeons has seen patients with complications from permanent fillers. And one in five saw a patient who needed surgery to correct the problem.

The UK doctors surveyed said the reason for complications was unqualified practitioners administering fillers incorrectly, and studies by the U.S. FDA confirm that U.S. patients who experienced adverse events are mainly the result of injection by an unqualified provider.

Doctors advise patients to accept only approved fillers, from injections prescribed by a physician. And, they urge consumers to ask the provider to be very specific about his or her qualifications… because, as we already mentioned, gravity works.

We’ve all heard about the shifty car repairman who takes advantage of the unwitting customer. You come in with a busted fan belt and suddenly the mechanic “finds” all kinds of things wrong with your car – all of which he can put right for a suitable fee, plus parts.  It’s no fun getting ripped off by a mechanic… or by a doctor. Yet in a recent investigation in the UK, a researcher pretending he wanted a nose job was repeatedly offered unnecessary surgery by 80 percent of the cosmetic surgery clinics he visited.

Another researcher who visited 11 clinics seeking breast implants and liposuction was given incorrect information about her “case” and, even offered implants that had been withdrawn from the market!

Which? Magazine, the UK publication that backed the recent investigation, did so in an effort to uncover how many of the 65,000 to 75,000 cosmetic surgery operations carried out each year in the UK are legitimately necessary.

Prior to his surgery search, the magazine’s investigative reporter was assessed by an experienced plastic surgeon who professionally determined that the reporter’s nose was not in need of cosmetic surgery.

Upon presenting at the surgical practices, however, the reporter’s nose suddenly became “uneven”, “pointed”, or otherwise unsightly – and in need of a rhinoplasty. The risks were explained as “minimal”, even though cosmetic rhinoplasty is a serious surgical procedure with a significant risk of complications.

The female reporter received similar misinformation intended to sell her on the idea of breast enhancement surgery, although her breasts were deemed to be in no need of such surgery prior to the investigation.

A new system of regulation for private cosmetic surgeons is being phased in across the UK to weed out the charlatans in the cosmetic surgery industry — but no system is foolproof, and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons says the public is still at risk. Sadly, as with all commercial transactions, the rule of thumb when seeking out cosmetic surgery is caveat emptor.

Of course, few cosmetic surgeries are actually medically necessary — as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.