"Waif look" is becoming popular in the U.K. for the Fashionista - cosmetic surgeon
Cheek thinning surgery can help achieve that elusive thinner look after all the weight loss
It's a frustrating problem. You've lost a lot of weight. You feel better. You look better. In fact, you look great. Except that your face hasn't caught up with the rest of your body. Your face still "looks fat."
That's where cheek reduction surgery, or "the waif look," can help. It makes you "look" thinner, by making your face thinner, said Professor Laurence Kirwan.
It involves removing the "buccal fat pad" or "Bichat fat pad" (after Marie François Xavier Bichat) from the cheek, giving the person a more hollow-looking cheek.
"Most people have chubby cheeks, no matter how much weight they lose, due to a collection of fat the size of a large shrimp. This "buccal fat pad" sits just underneath the cheek bone, between the buccinator muscle and the deep tissues of several other superficial muscles," he said.
"The buccinator muscle doesn't move the jaw. It moves food out of the mouth's vestibule and back toward the molars, tenses the cheek during blowing and whistling and helps with closing the mouth. It's the muscle trumpet players use when they are blowing their horn," Kirwan said.
"This buccal fat pad can be removed under local anaesthesia through a small incision about one centimetre long inside the mouth just next to the upper molar teeth. Once it is taken out the cheeks becomes more hollow beneath the cheek bone giving a wave look. It's the next big thing," he said.
"Someone such as Kelly Osbourne would be a great candidate for this surgery. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol probably had this same surgery along with a chin implant before she appeared on "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2012," Kirwan said.
This cheek reduction procedure, or "waif look" is another example of how cosmetic surgery can improve a person's self-esteem by correcting a longstanding problem, he said.
"Several studies have confirmed what I've always said. Cosmetic surgery's benefits go far beyond merely the aesthetic. There's a strong connection between cosmetic surgery and a person's social, emotional and physical quality of life that can't be underestimated," Kirwan said.
After the fat is removed there is reactive swelling so that it will take at least six months to see the final result.
ENDS--
PICTURE:
Professor Laurence Kirwan
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8szuv6efxl3kzfb/Dr_Kirwan%20hi%20res.jpg
NOTES TO EDITORS:-
ABOUT PROFESSOR LAURENCE KIRWAN MD:
Professor Laurence Kirwan MD, FRCS, FACS, is recognised as an international leader in aesthetic plastic surgery. He has clinics in Harley Street, London, New York City and Connecticut, USA. He specialises in aesthetic plastic surgery of the face, breast and body. He is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). He also is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and an active member of the prestigious American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). ASAPS members are required to perform a minimum number of aesthetic procedures each year to maintain membership. Both ASAPS and ASPS only admit physicians certified by the ABPS. The ABPS is the only Plastic Surgery Board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It oversees physician training in the US. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is the most prominent Society of its kind, representing a ‘gold standard' for excellence and innovation in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery worldwide. ASAPS meetings and approved educational activities draw surgeons from around the globe. Many UK surgeons make an annual pilgrimage to the Society's meeting and symposia. ASAPS members are required to perform a minimum number of aesthetic procedures each year to maintain membership.
Professor Kirwan was born in Liverpool. He graduated in Medicine from Manchester University in 1974 before becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1979. He trained in General Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. Then he completed Residencies at the Universities Denver, Colorado and Kansas City, Missouri. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Professor of Plastic Surgery of the International School of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery at the University of Belgrade.
He was named one of Tatler magazine's Top Surgeons in its Cosmetic Surgery Guide for the years 2004 and 2007-2012.He was named the "Top Breast and Tummy" surgeon for the past two years. He was included in the London Evening Standard's 1,000 Most Influential People report for the years 2007-2009. Professor Kirwan is also featured in The World's Top Surgeons & Clinics, published by Beyond Black Publications. Russian Vogue listed him as one of the Top 20 Plastic Surgeons, worldwide.
Professor Kirwan is a frequent contributor to current affairs programs on television and is an occasional contributor to magazines and newspapers. He has published three books: "The Cutting Edge: A Top Surgeon Tells All," about plastic surgery; "My Mole Book," a guidebook for children, explaining what happens when a mole is removed; and "Ophelia Blue Eyes: My Life So Far," a biography of Ophelia Sarah Kirwan, the professor's own daughter, who was born with Down syndrome. All are available through either Artnik Publishers or Amazon.com.