Episode 1 - Is Plastic So Fantastic?
Intro:
This week our panel debates the pros and
cons of the developing trend for manipulating our body image.
No longer the domain of the rich and famous,
more and more ordinary Australians - men and women - are turning
to botox, liposuction, implants and all kinds of surgery to
alter their body image, and to give themselves that perceived
extra edge.
But have we become too hard on ourselves,
and are we making too much of a few bumps, lines and wrinkles?
Our Panellists:
Rebecca Gibney, Alex Perry, Derryn Hinch,
Prue MacSween & Kerry Armstrong
 See
panellist profiles
Our Guests:
Gabrielle Richens:
Nicknamed the 'Pleasure Machine', UK-born
28-year-old Gabrielle is a popular face in Australia. As a
teenage model during the early '90s, Gabrielle says she was
surrounded by the 'chic' look, and was constantly told by
her agency to lose weight. At one shoot she was told to put
on a pair of jeans that could only fit a 12-year-old boy.
Throughout her career Gabrielle says there's
always something people have wanted to change about her, from
hair to nails to body shape. Gabrielle says she has dieted
but is uncomfortable with the image of the skinny model. She
likes being curvy and says the success of celebrities like
Beyonce Knowles and J-Lo proves that guys find a rounder body
more attractive.
Gabrielle is happy to talk about the breast
implants she had done seven years ago. She says going up a
cup size was something she did for herself and not because
of pressures in the industry.
Dr Graham Kenny:
A cosmetic physician, Dr Kenny has the
largest botox and restylane practice in Australia. He injected
our guest Charlene Klein's lips with restylane at the start
of the program, and we were able to monitor its effects.
Restylane is the latest procedure in lip
enlargement which, along with botox, will plump up your lips
and get rid of the lines around the mouth. Restylane is a
dermal filler in the form of a crystal gel. It uses a clear
fluid that occurs naturally in our joins and eyes. As a natural
product there is no rejection from the body. It costs $490
per syringe, enough for one pair of lips, although Dr Kenny
says some of his clients insist on having three syringes!
The results last up to two years.
 
Doctor doing restylane procedure
Botox is botulinum toxin type A, derived
from poison which causes botulism. It has been safely used
in general medicine for 30 years as a muscle relaxant, and
used cosmetically for about ten years. As a muscle nerve blocker,
an injection of botox blocks the nerve impulse that makes
the muscle contract and cause wrinkles. It costs $400 per
treatment and lasts four months.
Dr Kenny says the ideal usage is restylane
for the lips, complemented by botox for the lines around the
mouth, frowns, and crows feet. In 90 percent of his cases,
he says women don't tell anyone they've had the procedure
done. His female patients say they are doing it for themselves.
You can contact Dr Graham Kenny at:
Cosmetic and Medical Associates
Telephone: (02) 9413 4789
Sandi Lazarus White:
Sandi was 55-years-old when her partner
of seven years left her in April this year for a "younger
model" - a 39-year-old woman. Sandi knew nothing of the affair
they'd been having, and she lost four stone with the subsequent
stress and depression. Her skin needed rejuvenation and Sandi
needed her confidence back.
Sandi consulted Dr Lawrence Ho,
one of Australia's leading plastic surgeons. In August this
year she had the latest in facelifts - a non-invasive procedure
called Aptos Thread Facelift.
This so-called 'feather lift' procedure
uses nylon barbed wire threads under the skin to gently lift
the skin. The thread is inserted through a needle, which is
extracted soon after, and anchored to certain tissues in the
face. The thread fans out under the skin, and with its bi-directional
knot-like barbs, it hooks tissues and lifts it into place
with more stability than conventional sutures. The thread
can be gently tightened for added support.
The procedure costs $8,000 for the full
face and upper neck. It requires no cuts and leaves no scars.
It is performed under local anaesthetic with mild sedation.
Bruising is minimal and the patient returns to work within
a week. Because it is gentle, Dr Ho says patients don't end
up with the 'wind tunnel' look so often associated with full
surgical facelifts. The benefits can last for around ten years.
Dr Ho has performed the procedure seven
times since the technique was introduced in Australia in August
this year, all with great results.
Dr Ho says that there are fewer complications
with the Aptos Thread Facelift and therefore fewer risks of
full surgical procedures. This also reduces the threat of
litigation for surgeons. Plus, because there are no scars,
people won't be able to prove you've had something done, and
women can wear any hairstyle they like!
Dr Ho says this is the future of cosmetic
surgery - the 'less is more' philosophy with less invasive,
mini procedures performed at a younger age to avoid major
facelifts and prolonged recovery times.
You can contact Dr Lawrence Ho at:
Park House
Level 12, 187 Macquarie Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone: (02) 9221 2520
Dr Terrence Scamp:
An authority on plastic surgery procedures,
Dr Scamp has experience in vascular, orthopaedic, neurosurgery
and general surgery.
You can contact Dr Terrence Scamp at:
Dr Terrence Scamp's Esteem Clinic
14 Carrara Street
Benowa
Queensland 4217
Telephone: (07) 5539 1000
Fax: (02) 5539 1177
www.plasticsurgery-aust.com
Dr Colin Moore and Jeffrey Flynn:
Surgeon Dr Colin Moore specialises in phalloplasty
enlargement operations - making a penis bigger. During the
four-hour operation fat is transplanted from the pubic area
to the penis, resulting in a wider and longer penis. The patient
can't have an erection for two weeks after the operation,
and Dr Moore has patented a medicinal mix that ensures this.
On the show we met Dr Moore's patient Jeffrey
Flynn. Aged 39 and single, Jeffrey says his penis was short
and narrow. After seeing a TV program on penis enlargement
he started saving $200 a week and a year later had enough
money to call Mr Moore. Jeffrey had the operation in October
this year and is very optimistic about the benefits it will
have on his self-esteem. By talking about it on TV, Jeffrey
says he hopes to reach other men suffering similar self-esteem
problems from having a small penis.
Jeffrey says that before the operation
he was insecure and self-conscious. When swimming he would
"arrange" himself under water before coming out so that he
was "all up front" in his bathers. And he always worried that
women were talking about him behind his back.
Jeffrey says several of his male friends
knew he was having the operation, and all were supportive
and encouraging.
He says the whole experience was
a positive one, and that now he is mentally healthier and
looking forward to having a girlfriend soon!
You can contact Dr Colin Moore at:
The Australian Centre for Penile Surgery
Mail Box 321
4 Young Street
Neutral Bay NSW 2089
Telephone: 0414 251 234
Sylvia Deitch:
A society beautician with over 30 years
experience, Sylvia says simple face exercises can keep your
face toned, and ward off wrinkles, surgery and the ageing
process.
Sylvia believes in plastic and cosmetic
surgery, having had both her eyes and breasts done. But she
thinks later is better - she waited until she was 48 years
old.
Sylvia says anti-wrinkle creams have little
or no long-term benefits. She recommends wearing sun block
and antioxidant creams to keep skin healthy, but says she's
still looking for a cream that actually reduces lines.
As for her anti-ageing facial exercises,
Sylvia says it's all about bulking the right muscles to fight
against a life of gravity pushing the face down. Try this:
with perfect posture, drop the jaw open and put your mouth
into an O shape, push your tongue to the roof of the mouth,
isolate the zygomatic muscles around your cheek bones and
hold them up for as long as is comfortable. The beauty of
facial exercises, she says, is that you can't hurt yourself,
nor can you get scars. Plus the earlier you start the better!
We also look at these famous faces:
Newsreader Ron Wilson and TV host Kim Kilbey
talk about why they had work done.
We talk to two of the women from Mid Life
Calendar Girls - women in their mid-50s, proud of their bodies
in their natural state, who posed for a nude calendar and
inspired the recent film.
In the US, we meet an American woman who
paid $10,000 for buttocks implants to get a butt like pop
star J-Lo.
And we look at Hollywood's weird and wonderful
latest procedures.
Mars Venus broadcasts 7.30pm. Wednesdays,
on W for women.
Episode
One: Is Plastic So Fantastic?
Episode
Two: Where Are All the Blokes?
Episode
Three: Who Strays and Who Stays?
Episode
Four: Does Fat Matter?
Episode
Five: Bosses v Babies: The Juggling
Act
Episode
Six: When Too Much Is Not Enough
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