4/05/07
According to Simon Withey, MD, a consultant plastic surgeon at London Plastic Surgery Associates in the UK, hand rejuvenation or the “hand lift” is the new must-have procedure.
Hand lifts are achieved by one of two methods—fat transfer or mesotherapy. The procedure allows wrinkled, bony hands with prominent veins and deep grooves to become plump and healthy-looking.
Withey says demand for the procedure has increased 300 to 400% over the last 3 years.
“Hand rejuvenation is not something that is really in the public eye, but more and more people are requesting it,” Withey says. “A lot of them are afraid that their hands give away their age, particularly if they’ve had other work done.”
Hand lifts can also be accomplished by injectables, according to Lucy Glancey, MD, of Glancey Medical Associates, which operates a string of clinics across the UK.
Hand lifts with injectable fillers need three 5 to 10 minute sessions over 6 weeks. At each session, the patient has 25 to 30 injections in the back of each hand.
“Quite often, sun damage is an issue, because we usually remember to put sunblock on our faces, but not always our hands,” says Glancey. “On average, every third or fourth person who comes into our clinics will inquire about hand rejuvenation now.”
Glancey says that the majority of patients requesting a hand lift are female.
“Increasingly, it is women who are noticing in photographs of themselves that their hands don’t match their face,” says Glancey. “Men have a thicker skin that’s due to their hormones, particularly testosterone, and thicker hair that protects them.”
[news.independent.co.uk, April 1, 2007]
