ParfumGigi@aol.com ParfumGigi@aol.com

Aug 17 2005

By Deborah James, Daily Post

MORE than fifty Merseysiders have signed up to a controversial new 'plastic surgery' loyalty card that offers discounts to patients who undergo multiple cosmetic procedures.

The news came as professional experts last night voiced serious concerns that supermarket-style incentives could encourage vulnerable people to agree to unnecessary procedures for the 'wrong reasons'.

But staff at the Transform Medical Group say the scheme is meant to act as a reward for those who intend to continue regular treatments at its practice in Crosby - one of the first in the UK to introduce the cards.

The loyalty cards are aimed at people who regularly have non-surgical procedures like Botox injections, skin peels and lip fill treatments.

Any client who has four consecutive procedures is entitled to £200 cash back off any additional surgical or non-surgical procedure, which includes everything from liposuction to breast implants and tummy tucks.

Merseyside plastic surgeon Kevin Hancock is secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic

Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), which aims to maintain high standards and conduct in private practice.

He said: "We can't endorse anything that enourages people to undergo cosmetic or aesthetic procedures that firstly they may not have thought about and secondly they may not need.

"This is a very vulnerable population anyway in that if someone is seeking improvements they are likely to be a somewhat insecure person in any case."

Mr Hancock, who splits his time between his private practice in Rodney Street Liverpool, and Whiston NHS hospital, said not all plastic surgery should be considered "negative".

But he said: "The point is that this type of scheme could encourage someone to have a procedure for the wrong reasons, its not like offering someone a free flight, these are serious decisions.

"It is the difference between you asking for surgery because you have a deep-seated problem with the way you look, and you having surgery because I've told you you've got a big nose and you could consider having it altered.

But Karen Jones, clinical manager at Transform on Kenilworth Road, said most loyalty card patients were already regular customers and were most likely to use the cashback to pay for their next scheduled non-surgical treatment.

Ms Jones, 31, who already has Botox in her forehead, her top lip filled, and her breasts enlarged, said: "I think its a great thing.

"We have loyalty cards for everything nowadays so why not for plastic surgery?

"Most of our patients need to have their procedures re-done every six months or so anyway, so it's nice to be able to offer them a little thank you and every so often we pay for one of their treatments. "But they could use the discount for a surgical procedure if they wanted."

Transform sees around 520 non-surgical patients a year at Crosby.

Around seven patients a week go for consultations to seek a surgical procedure, around four of whom actually undergo an operation.

Elizabeth Dale, spokesperson for Transform, said the cards were intruduced after a dramatic rise in demand for cosmetic surgery and non-surgical treatments.

She described the cards as "a great way of providing value-for-money for treatments that have become part of "everyday life".

But Patrick Mallucci, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS member, said: "I am shocked at the way people are encouraged to seek plastic surgery as if it were a commodity, like a handbag or a tie.

"At the BAAPS we do not see patients as consumers, and condemn any programme that rewards the purchase of aesthetic procedures.

"They are preying on the vulnerabilities of a society increasingly obsessed with physical perfection.

"The public need to be reminded that plastic surgery is a serious decision and requires thorough consideration - how many 'air miles' you'll get shouldn't be a part of it."

Customer says she would be happy to use 'cashback' for operation to change shape of her eyes

JANE HAMMOND first visited Transform to have Botox injected into her forehead to reduce her frown lines, in 2002.

The 48-year-old sales co-ordinator from Crosby has regular treatments of Botox and a lip filler or plumping treatment called perlane.

She said she would consider using her loyalty card cash back to pay for an operation to change the shape of her eyes.

She said: "I've always been a constant frowner and so I have lines on my forehead,

I've also got really bad crows feet. I just want to make the best of what I've got, and I feel better after a treatment, I feel much lighter, and healthier, and life is good.

"I also used to get headaches from frowning and now I don't get them, because the Botox stops you moving your face so much.

"Now I have my lips done once a year and Botox every six months.

"It is expensive, which is why I think the loyalty scheme is a great idea. When you have spent a lot of money on something it's nice to get something back."

She added: "I'm probably already halfway to having my eyes done now.

"I'd be more than happy to have surgery with this clinic. I've been very pleased with the staff."

Clinic's top five most popular procedures

CURRENTLY the top five most popular non-surgical treatments at Transform are: 1. Botox 2. Dermal Fillers (for nose to mouth lines) 3. Skin peels

4. Hyperhydrosis (for the reduction of sweating) 5. Thread vein removal Loyalty card price list: Botox from £200 Breast Implants from £3750

Nose Job from £2,205

Ear Correction from £2,950

Liposuction from £2,520 Dermal Fillers from £235 Skin Peels from £460 Hyperhydrosis from £499 Thread Vein Removal from £345