ONE of Dr Charles Randquist’s patients needed only a half-hour procedure to increase her breast cup size.

It was done last year at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital under the observation of eight plastic surgeons.

The 31-year-old Singaporean, who wanted to be identified only as Ms Lim, was uneasy before the surgery.

“But once the surgery was over, and seeing the great results, I’ve forgotten all about it,” she said in an e-mail interview with The New Paper.

“I went for it because I had very small breasts. I have gone from an AA cup size to a B+, almost C. I should have done it earlier.”

She took six to nine months to recover completely.

“Everything looks and feels very natural! Of course... I look so much better.”

Ms Lim is among the increasing number of Singaporean women going for breast augmentation, say plastic surgeons whom The New Paper spoke to.

At KKH, the top three aesthetic procedures are blepharoplasty (eyelids), rhinoplasty (nose) and breast enhancements.

Senior consultant and head of the department of plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery Vincent Yeow said: “At KKH, there has been a 5 to 10 per cent increase, year-on-year, in the number of women seeking breast implants. These are younger women between the age of 30 and 45.”

Dr Yeow, who is also president of the Singapore Association of Plastic Surgeons, said some 500 breast augmentations are done in Singapore every year.

Dr Tan Ying Chien consultant plastic surgeon at The Sloane Clinic agreed that more women here are asking for breast augmentation although he does not have the numbers.

He cited three main reasons – to get fuller breasts, restore volume and shape lost after pregnancy, and to balance breasts that differ in size or shape.

Breast implant surgery costs $10,000 to $17,000 in Singapore.

Jet-skiing doc is top plastic surgeon

Swedish surgeon in S’pore to conduct breast implant workshops

THIS surgeon lives life to the fullest,  jet-skiing to work every day, come hail or high water.

It is a journey that takes anywhere from 10 minutes in good weather to 40 minutes in a storm.

He also enjoys other high risk sports such as extreme skiing and big game hunting.

But when it comes to his patients, Swedish plastic surgeon Charles Randquist leaves nothing to chance.

The 47-year-old has performed more than 2,000 breast implant operations over the last 10 years in his private Hospital Victoriakliniken located in Stockholm.

A self-professed stickler for surgical details, he is very particular about how the surgery is done.

“Essentially quickly, with minimal movement, to minimise the risk of infection or complications for the patient,” he said.

It takes him less than half an hour to finish a breast implant operation.

Dr Randquist now operates on 350 women a year for breast augmentation and that number is increasing.

His method results in a low rate (1.8 per cent) of post surgical Capsula contraction complications (the development of scar tissue around the implant.)

Dr Randquist recently teamed up with Allergan, manufacturer of breast implants made with cohesive silicone gel, and the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, to  conduct breast implant workshops twice a year for plastic surgeons from the Asia Pacific region.

“It is a privilege to love what I do and to share my knowledge with my peers. I also love hearing their opinions and having discussions,” said the youthful looking Dr Randquist who is married and a father of
three.

This is the second year of his collaboration with KKH. He is here over the next few days to conduct workshops with doctors from different parts of the world, including Korea and Australia.

He does not get paid to teach. Allergan reimburses him for his flight, hotel stay and time spent away from his very busy private practice in Stockholm.

“But obviously, it is not a full reimbursement of my loss of income. It is important to me that I retain my independence as a doctor and am able to choose to do what I think is best for my patients,” he said with a grin.

He showed this reporter a sample of the cohesive silicone gel implant that he is working with.

What distinguishes cohesive gel implants from regular silicon implants is that the gel implants are more form-stable, enabling them to be shaped more anatomically.

“It is essentially a soft solid. If a cohesive implant is cut in half, there is no gross movement of the gel, and the implant maintains its shape,” he said.

This means that if the implant breaks, there will be no free floating silicon leaking into the body which will be very difficult to remove. The repair job will be much easier with cohesive silicon gel, he said.

Custom fit
These implants also allow surgeons to shape them to fit each patient individually.

It is possible to shape an implant with a natural slope from the top of the implant leading to a fuller bottom.

“No longer do women have to go for the ‘bimbo-ish’ unnatural look with the perfectly round breast on the top and bottom, if they don’t want to.

“They can get implants which look like natural breasts and which can be customised to their body proportions,” he said.

Dr Randquist also chooses his patients carefully.

He tells fellow surgeons that a successful practice is due more to the patients turned away than the patients operated on.

“If a patient has unrealistic expectations, or if you feel that you will not be doing something good for the patient, you should not perform surgery on the patient.

You have to turn her down,” he said. These are also the patients who are more likely to complain.

“For those women whom surgeons decide to operate on, fulfilling their expectations and improving their quality of life, the surgery should be based on good and safe surgical principles using scientifically
evaluated devices and implants that have lifetime guarantees,” he said.
 
The two companies that currently offer life-time guarantees for their implants are Allergan and Johnson & Johnson, he added.