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Welcome to Authorlink, the news, information, and marketing site for editors, agents, writers, producers, publishers and fans. The Writers' Registry provides a comprehensive view of authors, journalists, and freelancers, what they do, their specialties, projects, and how to contact them.

Wendy Lewis

Represented by: Linda Chester

Searchable Keywords

Beauty, Cosmetic Surgery, Health, Self-Help

Specialties or Categories of Interest

Non-Fiction, Lifestyle

Excerpts from Reviews or References

"Wendy Lewis has managed to distill her unique 20 years of experience in the fields of Plastic Surgery, Medical Aesthetics and Beauty into her newest book, Plastic Makes Perfect (Orion). It offers the reader a thorough insight into all the treatments currently on offer pointing out the benefits and risks in a clear and honest manner. Its practical approach to advising prospective patients and recommendations for a smooth recovery make it a "tour de force" for anyone contemplating a cosmetic treatment." - Rajiv Grover BSc MD FRCS(Plast), Consultant Plastic Surgeon. Secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS)

From The Book

IT BEGAN WITH A NOSE

It is hard to imagine that cosmetic surgery has actually been around for over four centuries. In 1597, Gaspare Tagliacozzi, a professor of surgery at the University of Bologna, published "De Curtorum Chirurgia per Insitionem," an illustrated guide that documented the first nose job in history. In a woodcut, Tagliacozzi depicted a Renaissance man sans nose, with his arm extended and a flap hanging from his biceps. In another woodcut, he wears an intricate device that straps his arm up and back so that his face appears to be buried in his armpit and his hand is extended over his head like he is searching for his brain. The contraption stayed on long enough for tissue from his arm to form a new nose. Tagliacozzi was the first surgeon credited with the realization that improving a person's looks might also improve his life. He was several hundred years ahead of his time.

Sir Harold Gillies is considered the father of British plastic surgery, although he was actually a New Zealander. However, his cousin Archibald McIndoe, stole his thunder. Also born in New Zealand, McIndoe moved to England in 1931 after completing a fellowship at the tony Mayo Clinic in America. As the story goes, Gilles encouraged him to take up plastic surgery and became his mentor. During World War II, "Archie", as he was known, worked at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, where he took care of Royal Air Force pilots who were badly burned during the Battle of Britain. The fearless McIndoe took on the rather remarkable mission of trying to mend these young men so they could live normal lives. To make them whole again, a new type of surgery was needed. Although rhinoplasty, skin grafts and facial reconstruction had been practised for centuries, Gillies actually standardised these techniques and established the discipline that is called plastic surgery.

McIndoe's legacy lives on today. He helped found the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS). The BMI McIndoe Surgical Centre now occupies the building that once housed the burns unit, which ironically was the site of the popular UK edition of Extreme Makeover. What a difference 65 years make!

We've Come a Long Way

As long as we have wrinkles, there will always be a market for everything anti-ageing. We are witnessing a sea change in attitudes towards cosmetic enhancement. There has also been a massive growth in the sales of anti-ageing products in the UK. A survey by Boots & Co. reported that one in three women in the UK over 30 uses anti-ageing products, and they spend more than £650 million on them each year.

It should come as no surprise that cosmetic surgery is growing by leaps and bounds. Recent figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show a rise of 35 per cent in one year. Age reversing procedures have seen the greatest increase: a 42 percent boost in facelifts and a 50 per cent rise in eyelid surgery. The top ranked surgery was breast enlargement, which accounted for 20 More than 65,000 cosmetic surgeries were carried out in the UK, to the tune of over £659 million spent on treatments in 2006. Most of these, 89 per cent, were done on women, of course.

And that's just the beginning. Less invasive treatments such as Botox® and fillers are on offer in beauty clinics in villages all over the country. 2005 saw a 50increase in the number of people treated with Botox®, and more than 100,000 treatments were done in the UK. These numbers reflect the growing acceptance of image enhancements for women (and for men too), and the absolute obsession with cosmetic surgery that seems to be spreading across the globe.

Airbrushing is the Best Cosmetic Surgery

Behind virtually every A list celebrity today is a small army of stylists, dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons ready to fluff, nip, and tuck anything that needs adjustment. Women in particular face increased pressure to look younger in an age where mature celebrities who still look perfect adorn magazine covers. We really don't revere ageing the way other generations have in the past.

In our society, looks count. The way you feel about how you look sends off a signal to the world that you are either confident and content, or shy and self-conscious. Cosmetic treatments offer many secondary physical and psychological benefits as well. When you take control of something that makes you unhappy, you can remove a self-imposed barrier and ultimately improve your self-esteem tremendously.

Our dissatisfaction with our looks motivates a whole list of behaviours - losing weight, buying a wardrobe, trying a new hairstyle, changing your makeup, and in some cases, having a go at surgery. The desire to improve oneself is a natural consequence of living in our image-conscious culture. Who would not choose youth and beauty over plain and ordinary? Every woman has at least one thing she might want to secretly change about her appearance, and usually a whole slew of them. It could be your father's long nose, or the hooded eyelids that you've had since your twenties, or muffin tops that creep out over low riding jeans. Youth and beauty are commodities, even if you flinch at the idea of actually going under the knife yourself. Yet, debates about cosmetic surgery are rarely limited to the practical considerations; they invariably involve questions of morality. Ultimately, cosmetic surgery offers what our culture values most - aesthetic improvement and the preservation of youthfulness and vitality.

You're So Vain

Vanity is not really a dirty word. Looking after yourself and striving to be the best you can be should be admired. Our relative value of what vain is has changed. One woman might be considered vain if she goes for a blowout once a week or has a Brazilian wax, whereas another woman may think her Botox® is a necessity ranked up there with food, shelter or clothing. For an increasing cross section of women of all ages, beauty treatments, spa therapies, injections, peelings and surgery have become a normal way of life. The argument, from a more Victorian mindset, is that tinkering with what God gave you is only for people who have a low opinion of themselves. In my experience talking with thousands of women over the past 25 years, most women who go in for cosmetic enhancements are actually pretty self-confident and very switched on.

When you watch instant makeovers, youthifying transformations, and dramatic image changes on television, it all seems like a day at the beach. There are practically no bruises, precious little swelling, almost no pain, and the best part of all is that it would appear to be free. On some of these shows, the participants get it all done on the dole, which may account for their absolute delight with the entire process. If they had to max out their Switch cards, they might think differently.

Cosmetic surgery is designed to improve contours (to lift what is loose), whereas non-surgical procedures are used to enhance the skin's texture (smooth lines, wrinkles, scars and reduce pigment problems and redness). The overall mission is to help you look as good as your own anatomy and skin texture will allow. But if you are expecting a transformation miracle after one little surgery, you are setting yourself up for a huge disappointment. Cosmetic surgery does not deliver perfection. Many factors will contribute to the result you can get, some of which are not entirely under your control or the control of your doctor. The other obvious wild card is what you expect from the procedure. As unscientific as it may seem, pure luck factors into the equation. Some people just fare better than others.

Let's face it - no reasonable woman jumps into cosmetic surgery with a happy heart. You may be excited about the after effects, and getting through it is the means to an end. Your first time can be fraught with questions, doubts, fears and uncertainties. To make it go smoothly, prepare yourself both mentally and physically.

Copyright 2008-2009, Wendy Lewis (Expires March 18, 2009)

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