Since the lips reflect the health, full, lush lips have always been a sought-after asset, especially among women. Sensual and youthful looking, plump lips can tremendously change a person’s personality and appearance. Take Angelina Jolie for example – she has been named one of the sexiest women in the world and she has her pouty, luscious lips to thank.

As the world of cosmetic surgery advances, nothing is impossible. Anything that makes a person look and feel better is made easy with cutting-edge technologies, and certainly among them is lip augmentation procedures. Lip augmentation procedures increase the size of the lips to make them fuller and more attractive. Other than that, it can also reduce wrinkles in the mouth area. The procedure is used to help women and men of all ages. The upper or lower lip may be treated singly, or both upper and lower lips may be augmented at the same time.

Lip augmentation has become increasingly popular in recent years. Some types of lip augmentation involve the insertion of natural or synthetic materials. Many synthetic materials can be injected to make the lips look fuller such as collagen, fat, Artecoll, Autologen, Dermalogen, Fascia, Restylane and many more. Each of these materials has its own pros and cons so make sure you speak to your surgeon clearly about your choice. However, these injections require repeat treatments to maintain lip augmentation, as the materials are readily absorbed into the body.

There is also a surgical approach which takes longer to recover but provides longer lasting, or possibly permanent, results. The implants also come in a variety, from synthetic materials to one’s own fat. However, if the implant is synthetic, there is a risk of allergic reaction.

As with any type of surgery, there are risks and complications involved in the procedure. You can have allergic reactions to implants or allergic reaction to anesthesia. There might be mild swelling and bruising during the first three to seven days. Prior to the treatment, it is advised not to take aspirin or anti-inflammatory medications and if you smoke, it is suggested that you quit smoking for at least two weeks before the procedure. People with diabetes, poor circulation, heart, lung or liver disease, smoke, or those who have a family history of blood clots are at increased risk for complications. A discussion over medical history is vital.

American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has reported that the number one top surgical procedure in the United States for the year 2005 was liposuction. In that year alone, 455,489 liposuction treatments were done in America, 402,946 were women and the rest was men. The majority of the patients fall under the ages between 35 to 50 years old.

Second on the list was breast augmentation, totaling 364,610 cases in that year. The report revealed that 83.4 per cent of the patients used the saline device and 16.6 percent the silicone implant. The results of recent research demonstrate that women with saline implants are significantly more likely to express satisfaction with augmentation than women with silicone gel-filled implants.

There are no actual statistics on the numbers of transvestites since it involves some legal issues in many countries, but it has been reported that thousands of cases were done. Bangkok is known to be the premier place to go for sex change surgery. In fact, that is one of the top 10 procedures for which patients visit Thailand. A growing number of Americans are taking that path, traveling to countries like Thailand for cosmetic, orthopedic and heart surgeries and other medical and dental treatments that cost 20 to 80 percent less than at home.

For example, American surgeon’s fee for a full face-lift averaged $4822 in 2004, not including hospital costs, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. At Bangkok, it costs only 3,500 USD for a Face lift surgery (cheek bone area lift, cheek area lift, chin lift and neck lift). This cost is included hospital expenses.

The growth is in accordance with Thailand’s aim to establish Thailand as the “Center of Excellent Health of Asia” and this plan focuses on medical services, healthcare services and Thai herbal products. In 2004, as many as 20 billion Baht was generated by foreign patients seeking treatment in Thailand.

Many people want to take “cosmetics surgery holidays” in destinations that offer both tourist attractions and state-of-the-art plastic surgery technologies.

Although when including the air fares and accommodation, the price is not lower than treatments in their home country, medical tourists get more than a better look from this type of vacation - they get better, revitalized feelings from the destination’s refreshing atmosphere too. “My partner and I had originally planned to fly in and have the surgery done straight away. As luck would have it, we got to fly to Thailand 5 days earlier than planned and decided to spend them in Pattaya, holidaying. I would definitely recommend this. The time to relax is a bonus, not to mention the additional shopping time….” said Bangkok Plastic Surgery Clinic’s Australian patient Rebecca who underwent breast augmentation surgery in 2006.

The statistics for the year 2006 is yet to come, but it is expected that the rankings will not change much, but the number of procedures might change due a greater variety of options.

The advancement of plastic surgery is truly amazing. There is no record of when exactly plastic surgery originated, but there is evidence that suggests that plastic surgery has been around for thousands of years. However, it became more popular around the time of World War I. After that, steady growth and miraculous leaps have been seen throughout the history. Plastic surgery continues to evolve and improve and this continued evolution has allowed millions of people to benefit from the procedures both externally and internally. From silicone breast implants, liposuction, face lift, botulinum toxin, to the very recent stem cell therapy, the options are simply limitless.  

Recently introduced as a way to treat physical disorders, stem cell technique now takes on a big role in plastic surgery. Scientists are working on a stem cell technique that will allow women to grow their own natural breasts by implementing stem cells that grow as the same type of fat cells found in breast tissue. Breast implants grown from stem cells is believed to provide a safer alternative to silicone or saline implants which have been reported to cause infections. Stem cell implants are also able to better retain their original shape, as opposed to artificial implants which reduce the size as time goes by. 

Stem cell therapy also enables a non-surgical approach to facial rejuvenation since stem cells can naturally and effectively repair organs. Saraf S mentioned on “Role of Stem Cells in Plastic Surgery” that the new technique of tissue engineering is expected to revolutionize various aspects in reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. When used for wrinkle removal, the implants will retain their size and shape better and longer than any other allogenic implant. 

It has also been reported that they have the power to self-renew and differentiate into skin and functioning hair follicles. Multipotent stem cells are said to be capable of developing into the many different cell types needed for hair growth and follicle replacement. The method could one day be used to regenerate hair on bald people or patients with severe burns. 

Chiefly, stem cells are derived from the bone marrow or the blood. Stem cells can be stored at a stem cell bank for later use as well. Alternatively, there has been an ongoing research pointing to the enormous potential of using stem cells derived from liposuction in cosmetic surgery, provided that the stem cell is taken from fat before it has become a fat cell. 

However, at this stage, stem cell therapy is only a bright, shiny hope that has not been fully studied and approved. There have been reports of side effects and unsuccessful treatments. To date, only a handful of treatments have been licensed, principally for treating leukemia, thalassemia, and eye and skin disorders. More and longer term studies will be needed and many questions remain to be answered.

The battle against excess baggage still continues as weight remains a big health problem as well as affects one’s self-confidence. Extra fat is undesirable as it makes people self-conscious about their body image.

Nowadays, there are countless ways of weight loss, from self-disciplinary programs, diet pills to liposuction. Liposuction is deemed the quickest way to get rid of the unwanted fat.

Liposuction can help improve the body shape and proportion by removing unwanted fat deposits from specific areas such as the abdomen, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, upper arms, chin, cheeks and neck.

Today, a number of new techniques, including ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty (UAL), the tumescent technique, and the super-wet technique, can help many plastic surgeons to provide selected patients with more precise results and quicker recovery times. Although no type of liposuction is a substitute for dieting and exercise, liposuction can remove stubborn fat that is resistant to exercise and dieting.

It is most effective for patients with firm, elastic skin who fall within the normal weight range for age and height. There is no age limit, although liposuction works not so effectively in aged people as their skin have less elasticity. Patients should be in good health as liposuction carries greater risk for individuals with medical problems such as diabetes, significant heart or lung disease, poor blood circulation, or those who have recently had surgery near the area to be sculpted.

Liposuction is not a simple procedure and it is important that the patient is realistic about the results. The surgeon should give adequate information prior to the procedure and give a fair and unbiased view of what to expect from the procedure. It can only remove fat pockets from some areas of the body.

Liposuction, like any other surgery, can be dangerous if conducted carelessly. It has been reported that some patients have died from the procedure. It is best to seek reliable services from certified surgeons only, and patient should always speak to the surgeon before making a decision. Priced approximately at 1,600 US dollars, the procedure is quite worth the investment as the results are visible immediately.

However, liposuction is no magical spell that will permanently keep fat off the body. The fat will return if unhealthy lifestyle is continued. Liposuction can only remove stored fat, but if the patient lives a high-calorie life, it is very likely that the fat will become stored again.