Belle says that a lot of women have it for functional reasons because of issues arising from childbirth, but also recognizes that clothing and lifestyle are driving demand.
“Women who wear bikinis and swimsuits, lycra to the gym or to walk the dog or push the pram, are conscious of not showing too much downstairs. More and more surgeons are offering restorative procedures to make women more comfortable.”
And as demand for this type of surgery increases, new non-surgical procedures are also being developed, such as the ‘MonaLisa Touch’, which involves laser treatment inside the vagina to stimulate collagen production and counteract vaginal atrophy — a condition common during and post-menopause, where the walls of the vagina thin and dry out, causing sex to become painful.
And if that wasn’t enough, there is also the ‘O-Shot’, another procedure from the creators of the vampire face and breast lift which injects blood plasma taken from the patient, into her vagina, to stimulate new cell growth. It is used to help ease stress incontinence and vaginal dryness, whilst purportedly also making the area more sensitive during intercourse.
But it isn’t only vaginas that are getting the attention in 2016; breasts, long many a cosmetic surgeon’s staple are also going to be popular, but this year it’s reductions, rather than implants, that will have theatre rooms busy.
If there is going to be implant surgery, according to most experts, it will be modest increases which look far more “natural” than the huge airbag implants favoured by many in recent times.
Of course for those wanting to avoid invasive surgery altogether, there’s the vampire breastlift, pioneered by Dr Charles Runels, the US surgeon who created the vampire facelift made famous by Kim Kardashian West. The procedures involve taking the patient’s own blood, spinning it in a machine that separates blood cells from platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and injecting the PRP to generate new tissue.
And finally, one of the new buzzwords we’ll be hearing with some frequency is ‘tweakments’, the term given to subtle cosmetic changes that are difficult to detect, but which still create improvements in the patient’s appearance.
“Despite the considerable advancements in cosmetic surgery outcomes, there is still resistance amongst many people unwilling to undergo surgery. Non-invasive alternatives like muscle relaxant treatments for the face can visibly reduce aging and dramatically soften facial expression lines” says Belle.
“We’re also seeing an increasing demand for Lipodissolve, a non surgical alternative to liposuction. When injected directly into fat deposits, the Lipodissolve helps break down and emulsify them allowing the fat to be removed permanently by the liver, bowel and kidneys.”
Dermal fillers are making all sorts of amazing tweakments to patients, including non-surgical rhinoplasty, which allows a person to reshape their nose without the pain and long recovery time of conventional surgery, and it boasts immediate results.
2016 may be the Chinese calendar’s Year of the Monkey, but it’s most likely cosmetic surgery’s; Year of The Tweakment.