This is a question we are regularly asked and there is no scientific answer for this, as it is dependent on a variety of different factors.  Factors that can influence how long a breast lift operation is effective for include the following:

• The age you are when you have the operation
• Whether you gain or lose weight once you have had the procedure
• The skill of your surgeon – which is why it is so important to choose a surgeon who specialises in your operation of choice
• Your lifestyle choices in the years after the operation
• Your genetics – some people are just luckier than others and have greater elasticity in their skin. This helps maintain the look the surgeon has achieved

There are a number of practical things you can do to help give your newly lifted breasts the best chance of looking and feeling how you like them.

Maintain breast lift results: try and maintain a consistent weight

Weight loss and weight gain are the natural enemies of cosmetic procedures such as breast uplifts (and others such as tummy tucks, body contouring etc). If you are planning on losing weight in the future it is best to try and do that before having an operation such as this because it will affect how the breasts look. If you are planning a pregnancy it is also worth waiting until after it/these are complete, as much of the body is affected by the changes during pregnancy (and breastfeeding).

Maintain breast lift results: ensure you’re fitted correctly with supporting underwear

Wear a correctly fitting bra that offers the right level of support. So many women wear ill-fitting bras, and this can contribute to how well your breasts look and how long surgery like this is effective for. Getting fitted properly when your breasts have settled down following the operation is highly recommended. Not only are there practical benefits but it will be a lot more comfortable too.

Maintain breast lift results: get a good skincare routine

Largely, the amount of natural elasticity within your skin is governed by genetics, but there are things that can be done to aid collagen production (the agent that helps skin retain its elasticity) and these include drinking lots of water to stay well hydrated, avoiding too much exposure to the sun and also making sure you’re getting enough vitamin C and E.

For more advice on breast uplift results, call 01926 436332 to arrange a consultation with breast surgery specialist Mr Alan Park at his Warwickshire cosmetic surgery clinic.

When you are planning a cosmetic procedure, it is important to remember that the more you know about what to expect, the smoother and easier the whole process will be. You will no doubt have done plenty of research in the run-up to booking a consultation, but ahead of the consultation is the time to pull out all the stops and think about all the questions you want answers to.

For the more organised amongst us, you’ll probably already be writing these down and that is the first piece of advice here – make a list of all the questions you want to ask. If you don’t, you’ll probably forget something. There is always a lot of information to digest. To give you a helping hand to start that list off, here are some of the common questions you might be wanting answers to at your consultation.

Cosmetic surgery consultation questions: How frequently have you performed the particular operation I am interested in?

This is a good one as it allows you to understand how experienced your surgeon is in a particular procedure. A cosmetic surgeon who has a lot of experience in the area you’re interested in will have had the benefit of working with lots of different body types and shapes, they will also no doubt have an extensive catalogue of before and after imagery that they can show you.

Cosmetic surgery consultation questions: How long will it take to recover?

A very sensible question as this will determine whether or not you need time off work and how much support you will need. It will also help you understand what will be possible in the days/weeks/months following your operation. Depending on the procedure, sometimes recovery is very quick, whereas other operations take months to fully heal from.

Cosmetic surgery consultation questions: What should I expect from the recovery process?

Setting realistic expectations about how quickly you can expect to recover is important, as it helps your mental well-being. If you know what you expect then you can prepare yourself mentally and practically for the recovery process. From a practical perspective, if you are having a large operation then you will want to give some thought to post-operative support from family and/or friends. If you are keen to get back to exercising, this is also something you should talk about so that you understand what limitations there are and how long these will last.

Cosmetic surgery consultation questions: How much will this cost?

Don’t be afraid to ask for a full breakdown of costs upfront; cost is an element of surgery that must be discussed so you shouldn’t feel awkward about asking for clarity upfront. Importantly, if you are being given cost reduction options such as limited-time deals, recommend a friend or buy one procedure and receive a discount on another, these should be warning signs. Cosmetic surgery is an important lifestyle decision involving legitimate medical practices and you should not feel rushed into a decision because of a financial ‘deal’ that is on offer. If a deal sounds too good to be true based on the research you have done into costs, it probably is.

In summary, the more you ask at your consultation, the more you will know about what to expect and ultimately the more satisfied you are likely to be with the whole process. Call 01926 436332 to arrange a consultation plastic surgeon Mr Alan Park at his Warwickshire cosmetic surgery clinic.

Once you have chosen to have breast augmentation surgery there are some handy hints and tips that would be sensible to follow, to ensure that your results last as long as possible. Your surgeon will discuss best practice with you during the run up to your operation and in the days afterwards, but this checklist will help manage expectations about what you should be doing to look after your new breasts.

Best breast augmentation results: do your research

Firstly, start with selecting a good surgeon. Your breast augmentation will only ever be as good as the skill of your chosen surgeon, so take your time researching your cosmetic surgeon to ensure you select someone whose style of work you favour and who is a regulated professional. Look for members of professional medical bodies such as the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) as they ensure their members have all the necessary qualifications and also perform annual safety audits.

Best breast augmentation results: make suitable choices for your size and frame

It is always advisable to talk at length with your breast augmentation surgeon about what you want from the end results and how different this is from your natural look. Your surgeon will need a clear idea of what you are hoping to achieve in order to create a finished look this is satisfactory. Setting realistic expectations upfront is important as it will ensure you know what you are going to look like afterwards.

Best breast augmentation results: follow post-operative advice

You will be given advice on how to help the healing process, including what you put (or not put) on the scars as they are healing. Following this advice is important as it helps minimise how visible scars are once they are fully healed.

Similarly, trust your breast augmentation surgeon when they give you advice on how soon to exercise after your operation – they know best and will guide accordingly. If you push yourself too far too soon then you could risk damaging your new breasts and affecting how quickly you can heal. When recovering from any operation it is important to be patient – you’ll get there, some quicker than others though so don’t hold yourself to a strict healing timeline, just let your body recover at its own pace.

Men and women differ in many ways, both in terms of their physiology and in some of their needs and wants. What is interesting in the cosmetic surgery world at the moment is the overlap between what women are looking for and what men are now looking for as well when it comes to the male facelift.

Women have typically been the more common consumer of facial surgery, particularly the facelift. This has been for a number of reasons but the marked drop in oestrogen that occurs during the menopause can cause women to appear to age faster than men at this time of their lives. The facelift can reverse skin sagging and restore the fuller, rounder contours of youth. This, in turn, makes the patient look and feel more youthful. However, we are now seeing an increase year on year of male patients who are keen to have the same kind of work done, although there are subtle differences in what men are hoping to achieve versus women.

Male facelift vs female facial surgery

Men do not want the softer, fuller appearance desired by women, but typically wish to restore a more chiselled look to the jawline. By comparison, women often ask for more definition around the jaw, but in a softer way. Women often combine facelift surgery with other procedures such as dermal fillers to areas such as their lips or cheekbones.

A facelift is often combined with other facial rejuvenation procedures, particularly a blepharoplasty or eyelid lift and this can transform the appearance of the ageing eye in both men and women. Brow lifts are also popular with women, but men typically have lower brows so your cosmetic surgeon must be careful not to feminise the brow by raising it to an unnatural position.

The placement of incisions also differs slightly between men and women. Mr Alan Park always aims to place the incisions where they will be least visible after surgery and it is usually easier to conceal these in a female hairline as the hair tends to be longer and fuller. A male hairline can change over time due to male pattern baldness. Facial hair is also a consideration – during a male facelift, the skin is lifted and it is important to be aware of where the follicle-bearing skin is moved to.

The bottom line is that both sexes are choosing his kind of procedure as it helps them look and feel younger. It is a clever way of turning back the clock and removing some of the telltale signs of ageing skin. To find out if you’re suitable for a male facelift, call 01926 436341 to arrange a consultation with Mr Alan Park.

Your plastic surgeon will work meticulously and diligently to avoid potential risks following cosmetic surgery but sometimes complications are unavoidable. While there are many factors that can be studied and analysed to ensure that patients get the right treatment and recovery plan for them, there are some things which are out of surgeons’ control.

One of these is a condition called capsular contracture which can occur following breast augmentation surgery. Capsular contracture is an autoimmune condition that affects the body’s ability to create scar tissue.

The body’s natural response is to create a film of scar tissue around a foreign body such as an implant, but it becomes a problem if too much scar tissue is formed and it hardens, constricting the implant. This is not something that can be predicted unless the patient has suffered from this before.

Scar tissue is created by the body in response to an incision or wound. The cells create new tissue to fuse the gap, but this is always courser than the original tissue and has slightly different properties. For many of us, scar tissue will form and then the scar will fade over time. Depending on the depth of the incision, some will fade entirely.

When breast implants are inserted, the normal development of scar tissue actually helps keep the implants in the right location within the chest. For people who develop capsular contracture, however, the scar tissue is created in abundance and this can cause problems for implants. Problems can include:

• Discomfort in the breasts
• Pressure on the implants which can push them higher up the chest than is desired
• Uneven look and feel to the skin

If you have had breast implants and believe you are experiencing capsular contracture as you heal then consult your plastic surgeon for an assessment. In some cases, revision surgery is required to address the problem.

How likely am I to develop capsular contracture?

This condition is quite common and varies from being so mild that patients are completely unaware of it, to other cases where the symptoms above are discovered. The risk of serious capsular contracture is low and Mr Alan Park will do everything he can in the pre-operative planning to reduce the risk.