Aurora Clinics Blog » facelift

Plastic surgery can make you look 7 years younger, study finds

stw — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:22:38 +0000

So it might not be quite 10 years, but a study in Canada has found that facial cosmetic surgery makes a person look, on average, 7 years younger than they would without surgery.

The study was carried out by the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery in Toronto, and involved 53 women and 7 men aged 45-72 who had undergone between one and three anti-aging cosmetic surgery procedures – including face and neck lift, brow lift and eyelid surgery.

The breakdown of procedures was as follows:

22 had just one procedure – a face and neck lift
17 had two procedures – a face and neck lift plus eyelid surgery
22 had all three procedures – a face and neck lift, eyelid surgery and a brow lift

Photographs of the men and women were shown to a group of 40 medical students, who were not told their real ages, but instead asked to rate how old they looked, both before and after their cosmetic surgery.

Averages were calculated, and the final results showed that the people who had one procedure looked 5.7 years younger after surgery. Those who had two procedures looked 7.5 years younger. And those who had all three procedures looked 8.4 years younger.

Now of course, this is a very small study, so it’s to be taken with a pinch of salt – but it’s an encouraging one nonetheless, especially if you’re planning a surgical ‘refresh’ of your own…

If you’d like to know more about the face lift, brow lift or eyelid surgery procedures available at Aurora Clinics, or would like to arrange a free consultation, give us a call on 0845 230 4110 or send an email to info@aurora-clinics.co.uk .

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TV star Frances Barber “saving up” for cosmetic surgery

stw — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:23:47 +0000

Hot on the heels of Susan Sarandon revealing that, despite her earlier denials, she has in fact undergone cosmetic surgery, another celebrity has decided to come clean.

Actress Frances Barber, recently seen on TV as Madame Kovarian in Doctor Who, has admitted she plans on treating herself to a surgical freshen up, and is already saving up to make it happen.

Saying she’d be a “hypocrite” if she said she’d never have a facelift, she adds that she would only be looking for “tiny adjustments” to make her look “less tired”.

The 54-year-old actress also says that she doesn’t care about growing older, and actually feels 26 – implying that the surgery will just make her look a little more like the woman she feels inside.

Honesty like that is rare and refreshing – especially among celebs – so good on Frances. Here’s hoping that when the time comes for her to have her cosmetic surgery, she gets a great result that has her looking as young as she feels!

For more information on any of the cosmetic surgery procedures, or non-surgical alternatives, on offer at Aurora Clinics, call us on 0845 230 4110 or email info@aurora-clinics.co.uk .

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No facelift for Susan Sarandon – just a little off the chin

stw — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:59:59 +0000

When Hollywood star Susan Sarandon spoke out against cosmetic surgery, saying she thought women should go and “do something interesting instead” of getting a facelift, it was fair to assume she was not the kind of woman to go in for cosmetic surgery at all – especially as she’d publicly denied having any surgery or even anti-wrinkle injections.

It seemed that the incredibly well-preserved 65-year-old must have hit the genetic jackpot, looking better as the years rolled by with no surgical help.

Well, now it seems that her youthful looks are not purely down to a rigorous anti-aging skin care routine, exercise and a healthy diet after all. According to newspapers, the star now admits she has in fact received a little help from one particular anti-aging treatment – specifically, facial liposuction, which she refers to as having “under my chin sucked out”.

Now, it might not be quite as invasive as a facelift, but it’s still cosmetic surgery Susan!

In an ideal world, it would have been great if she’d felt able to admit to having a little help in the first place, rather than feeling like she had to deny it.

Everybody knows it goes on in showbiz land, and the more people in the public eye start being honest and upfront about the help they’ve received from the cosmetic surgeon, the less stigma there will be for the rest of us. So come on Hollywood, you lead the way!

If you’d like to find out more about the facial liposuction or facelift procedures on offer at Aurora Clinics, give us a call on 0845 230 4110 or email info@aurora-clinics.co.uk to arrange a free no-obligation consultation.

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Thread Lift Treatment: What Is Your Opinion?

Donna — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:24:50 +0000

Question :

Dear Aurora Clinics,

Do you carry out Thread Lift treatment (gold thread skin rejuvenation) under local anaesthetic?

Answer :

Thank you very much for your question.

We do not perform Thread Lift treatment (gold thread skin rejuvenation): under local anaesthetic or otherwise. This is due to the fact that procedures we have performed in the past have failed to provide long-standing results that patients were happy with.

Thread Lift treatment can cause rippling and creasing of the skin. Patients also experience discomfort afterwards due to downward traction on the stitches.

We prefer a mini facelift procedure (MACS Facelift Surgery) which gives longer lasting and more reliable results.

If you would like to know more about Macs Facelift Surgery, please take a look at or website: www.aurora-clinics.co.uk . Alternatively, you could schedule a free consultation to discuss the best way forward by ringing us on: 0800 328 5743 or sending an email to: info@aurora-clinics.co.uk.

Best Wishes,

The Aurora Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Team

Face Lift Patient Review: Mr Mark Scott, Aurora Clinics

sbrechon — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:00:22 +0000

Real Life Patient of Mr Mark Scott (Aurora Clinics) Writes a Review of her Face Lift Experience

Where Did You Hear About Surgeon Mr Scott?

My beautician in Princes Risborough recommended plastic surgeon Mark Scott to me. I have known her for many years and have total trust in her. I believed her to be uniquely placed to make a recommendation as many of her clients have had surgery. For facial surgery she had seen quite a bit of Mark’s work and was most impressed.

What Did You Hope To Achieve From Facial Surgery?

In my early 50’s, I felt gravity was the getting the better of my face although my skin is still good. I wanted a face lift that was completely natural and made me look the very best I could.

How Was Your Consultation with Mr Mark Scott?

Mark Scott has a gentle and patient manner and listened to exactly what I wanted which was to lose the jowls and for my neck to be a bit tighter. I had no desire to look 35 again…just the very best I could!

How Did Your Facelift Surgery Go?

The facelift surgery went well and when the bandages came off the next day I was amazed! I had forgotten I had a pointy little chin: its great. I had an expectation – but naturally also a fear factor that all might not be what I wanted. Well, expectations were exceeded! I cannot recommend him highly enough.

What about the Other Aurora Clinics / Hospital Staff?

The staff at both The Paddocks Clinic (Buckinghamshire) and the Shelburne Hospital (High Wycombe) were fantastic and nothing was too much trouble.

Are You Still Pleased with your Face Lift Results Post-Surgery?

A month on, I have my final look with all swelling and bruising gone and I am absolutely delighted. It’s a big thing to do and a major decision but so much easier when you have a surgeon you can trust.

Many thanks to patient L Muir. If you would like to Book A Consultation with Mr Mark Scott at the Aurora Clinics Paddocks Clinic in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, please call 01844 214 362.

Introducing Aurora Clinics’ Team of Expert Cosmetic & Plastic Surgeons

sbrechon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:33:32 +0000

Meet Some of our Aurora Clinics Expert Surgeons

If you have been researching Aurora Clinics UK for your cosmetic surgery procedure, chances are that you found lots of videos, articles and podcasts by Mr. Adrian Richards.

Adrian Richards (Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon)

Mr. Richards is Aurora’s Clinical Director and a fantastic surgeon – he was voted ‘Home Counties Leading Plastic Surgeon’ by The Daily Mail and ‘Leading Breast Surgeon UK’ by The Independent on Sunday. But that’s not the only reason that Mr. Richards appears all over the Internet – he is a pioneer of digital media, believing that cosmetic surgery information should be made freely available to all those who want it through videos, podcasts, photos and blogs.

Because of this, Mr. Richards is our surgeon who gets the most limelight.

But did you know that Aurora Clinics actually have a number of top-quality Plastic and Cosmetic surgeons, all specialising in different procedures and of an equally high standard (just maybe a little more camera-shy!)

Mr. Prashant Govilkar

Holding an NHS post with Stoke Mandeville Hospital Centre of Excellence, Mr. Govilkar also works regularly as an Aurora Clinics Buckinghamshire partner surgeon. He provides a whole range of treatments from breast to face surgery but is a post bariatric surgery specialist, expert at treatments like the body lift for after patients have lost a lot of weight. Mr. Prashant Govilkar is very actively involved in training others, presenting and authoring his own papers. His patients really appreciate his calm manner and sympathetic listening skills.

Mr. Miles Berry

The perfect Aurora Clinics choice if you need a top-quality surgeon based in London. Consulting from our Harley Street clinic, Mr. Berry trained extensively in breast reconstruction after breast cancer as his speciality. Nowadays with Aurora Clinics, however, he is also an expert in more general breast surgery procedures and male breast reduction (gynecomastia surgery) too. Mr Berry has a great sense of humour and is very popular with all his patients.

Mr. Mark Scott

Mr. Scott comes highly recommended by the many patients he has treated over the years. Impressively, he was one of the UK’s youngest ever consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, when he was appointed to Stoke Mandeville NHS Trust back in 1996. Mr Scott’s background is also in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery and he is a real expert in breast surgery procedures as well as face lifts and rhinoplasty (nose reshaping) amongst other treatments. He can be seen for consultation with Aurora at The Paddocks Clinic in Princes Risborough.

Aurora Clinics have an extensive team of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Specialists

We do have a number of other expert Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons, not to mention our expert team of Aesthetic Practitioners who offer our Non-Surgical treatments. Aurora Clinics are very proud of our Team and selective about who we work with: by only partnering with Board-accredited, highly experienced and qualified surgeons we are able to offer you the very best surgery experience and results.

To arrange a consultation with any of our surgeons, please call us on 0800 328 5743 and we will be delighted to advise on the most suitable surgeon for you. All of the surgeons mentioned in this article are experts in performing PIP implant removal and replacement surgery for Aurora Clinics, please contact us for details.

How Does Gravity Affect the Face?

sbrechon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:18:18 +0000

What Goes Up Must Come Down

As we all know, one of the things you really can’t avoid in this life is Gravity. Unless you fancy a sneaky trip to Space, it’s a sure fact that What Goes Up is Coming Back Down. Or – in aesthetic terms – what starts off perky, ends up a little saggy.

In the case of Face Shape, gravity works its magic here as anywhere by pulling all areas downwards.

Where Does Gravity Affect?

This is most obviously manifest by:

lowering of the eyebrows
heaviness of the upper eyelids
excess skin in the lower eyelids
sinking of the apples of the cheeks
formation of jowls
excess skin in the neck region

Whilst these typical signs of aging tend to fill people with dread, each can be treated.

1st Steps for Treating Gravity of the Face

As an initial course of action, a lifetime of healthy vitamin-rich diet, plenty of exercise, using sun protection (whilst avoiding harsh weather exposure in general), moisturiser and serum usage and avoiding smoking or alcohol will certainly stand you in good stead for holding off gravity in the face for longer.

Unfortunately, however, even with the best will in the world nobody can prevent the aging process forever.

Non-Surgical Treatments for Gravity of the Face

At this point, the first step is often non-surgical procedures of which there are a whole host specially suited to each of the problems listed above:

lowering of the eyebrows – Muscle Relaxing injections can help relax the Active muscle that causes the brow to drop
sinking of the apples of the cheeks – Dermal Fillers can be used to plump out cheek volume
Aged and damaged skin – Genuine Dermaroller Therapy

Surgical Treatments for Gravity of the Face

However, depending on your age and how advanced the affects of gravity already are on your face, you may find that you need a consultation with a specialist surgeon regarding surgical procedures as non-surgical treatments cannot deal with large amounts of excess skin or heaviness, particularly in the upper eyelid region or jowls (although advances in non-surgical treatments like the Nefertiti Neck Lift may be of interest to you!)

Low brow position – brow lift surgery
Heavy upper Eyelids – Upper blepharoplasty are removing the excess fold on the upper eyelid.
Lower eyelid – Lower blepharoplasty tightening up of the skin of the lower eyelid and removing puffiness.
Jaws and Necklift – Face and Necklift procedures.

Whichever route you decide to take, gravity may be an inevitable fact of life but it is not one that you need to take “lying down”: if you want to do something about the affects of gravity in your face, you can achieve extremely successful results through both non-surgical and surgical procedures for reversing the inevitable effects gravity takes in our face.

Contact Aurora Clinics for more information on 0800 328 5743 / info@aurora-clinics.co.uk

3 Tips to Get The Best from your 2012 Cosmetic Surgery

sbrechon — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:40:17 +0000

Last year, our ‘New Year: New You Resolutions’ blog was a big hit. This year, however, with the media dominated by the PIP implant scandal and talk of a second recession getting people down, it is easy to forget how little changes – not just the big ones like cosmetic surgery – can really get you feeling back on track.

So here’s a re-cap on the New Year’s Resolutions that it’s actually worth making (you know, the ones that you shouldn’t give up on after the first month)*.

3 New Years Resolutions That Will Help Your Cosmetic Surgery:

Quit smoking – both smoking and being overweight puts patients at higher risk for wound healing problems after cosmetic surgery procedures.
Get your Body Mass Index down to an optimal, stable level (ideally below 30) – Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) procedures particularly benefit from weight being at a sustainable level prior to surgery. So, too, do Breast Augmentation and Uplift (Mastopexy) procedures where your surgeon’s good work can be undone if you dramatically change weight after surgery.
Improve your skincare regime – whilst facelifts, botox and dermal filler treatments can do wonders for your facial appearance, prolonged youthful beauty in the face comes from the glow of great skin condition. The best skin regime for stimulating collagen (the factor which makes us look younger and healthier), repairing and regenerating involves layering a serum and a moisturiser, packed with Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Niacinamide. We highly recommend the Flavo C range (stocked in our Aurora Clinics branches).

Although cosmetic surgery can make dramatic improvements to you, physically and emotionally, it is not a “miracle cure” alone: there are often other contributing factors in your lifestyle that will effect the outcomes of your surgery, the results achieved and how long they may last.

So isn’t it great news that some of the things you can do to help this are typical New Years resolutions, anyway!

It really is in your best interest to begin the New Year on a healthy note if considering 2012 surgery.

So, Happy New Year from all here at Aurora Clinics: Let’s make it a beautiful one…but, above all, a healthy one!

*For New Years’ resolutions you should let fall by the wayside, think: never eating chocolate again, being a Size 0 by March or Marrying Prince Harry. Sorry, ladies – it aint gonna happen.

Do I need a Mini Facelift or a Full Face Lift procedure?

sbrechon — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:33:43 +0000

We frequently get asked at Aurora Clinics what the difference is between mini facelift surgery and a full face lift. It is quite a confusing topic, so no surprise that people are often unsure. In this Blog we hope to clear up a few uncertainties and help you decide whether a mini face lift or a full facelift might be more suitable for you.

Mr. Adrian Richards (Consultant Cosmetic and Plastic surgeon at Aurora Clinics) always says he likes to “think about face lifts as if they’re either divided into short scar or full face lifts”.

Mini (Short Scar) Face Lifts:

There are so many different types of facelift available. But the typical ‘mini’ face lift is a short-scar technique. This involves a scar hidden in the hairline and infront of the ear. As the name suggests, it is a fairly short scar or ‘minimal scarring’ technique – hence the ‘Mini’ part!

A short scar face lift differs from a full face lift in that a full face lift involves a further scar going up in the fold behind the ear and back into the hair. This obviously involves considerably more scarring, but the full face lift does provide more dramatic effects than the mini face lift…the mini is typically the first step for patients having a facelift at a slightly younger age, or with less excess skin than those who might be candidates for a full face lift. The average mini facelift patient is in their 40s or early 50s, with some facial ageing and descent, but their neck is not significantly loose.

Types of mini face lift methods do vary. At Aurora Clinics, we offer the MACS mini facelift (minimal access cranial suspension) where the tissues of the skin underneath the face are held up with permanent stitches to the fascia in the temporal area, making them very firm and improving the tightness to give a ‘lifted’, rejuvenated effect. We also offer the Hollywood facelift with our partner surgeon Dr. Alexandra Chambers although this is a less common procedure as the results are really quite subtle; just a little lift for those who are not at all ready for a more dramatic facelift procedure but feel they do need some tightening in the facial area. There are advantages to mini face lift procedures: cheaper costs, quicker recovery times. But for those who are slightly older, with more facial descent or wanting noticeable effects the full facelift may be a better option.

The Traditional Full Face Lift

The full face lift is also sometimes called the ‘Traditional’ facelift because it is so famous and commonly performed! Used for people who are slightly older (usually from 55 or 50 upwards), typical full facelift candidates have some degree of neck laxity or excess skin in the eyelid region too. For this reason, the Full Facelift procedure is frequently combined with a Neck Lift or Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Correction).

During Full Facelift surgery, the surgeon adds a backwards vector in this area to pull the neck backwards and to tighten the neck tissue. In patients who have a significant amount of laxity in the neck, an incision can be added under the chin to tighten up the skin in that direction and the muscles in the platysma muscle of the neck are often often repaired at the same time. The scar in a Full facelift goes up in the fold behind the ear and back into the hair, with the surgeon concealing this as much as possible under the hair. As the scarring is more noticeable with this approach, many men (or ladies with short hair styles) may prefer to opt for a mini procedure like the MACS. Very noticeable tightening and rejuevenating effects can be achieved, however, with a full facelift whilst still maintaining a natural appearance if you select an expert facelift specialist for your surgery.

We hope that this has explained some of the basic differences between Full Facelift Surgery and a Mini Face Lift. If you would like more advice or clarification about these procedures, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 328 5743 .

Are Facelifts suitable for Men with Short Hair?

sbrechon — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:31:56 +0000

Question :

Dear Aurora Clinics,

I am considering having a Facelift (Face Lift) procedure.

However, I am a man with very short hair.

Do you think this procedure will be suitable for me or will the results look poor due to obvious scarring with my hair?

Answer :

Thank you for your recent enquiry.

The Hollywood facelift is suitable for men with short hair as the incision is located within the skin on the temple.

The Hollywood facelift, unlike other types of facelift, does not involve a scar in front of the ear which can be of a significant benefit for men.

My colleague Dr Chambers does specialise in the Hollywood facelift treatment and if you feel that you would like to discuss the best way forward for you, please contact us on 01844 214362 to schedule an appointment with her.