Procedures

We offer the following plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic procedures:

Body

An abdominoplasty, commonly known as a tummy tuck, will tighten and shape your stomach area, removing excess hanging skin, fat and stretch marks. This area of the body can be particularly resistant to diet and exercise especially when the excess is caused by a prior pregnancy or excessive weight loss. Patients who have tried unsuccessfully to lose this additional weight may therefore achieve their goal of a flattened stomach with a tummy tuck, improving confidence in their appearance. To have a tummy tuck you will need to have a healthy body mass index (BMI).

Fat grafting is where fat is moved from one part of the body to the other, commonly from the thighs or abdomen where there may be excess weight.

Reconstructive surgery is used to repair and reshape your form and function after infection, trauma, cancer surgery, or for congenital reasons. It involves transferring tissue from one part of the body to the other with the aim of restoring your appearance. Common conditions treated with reconstructive surgery include breast and skin cancer, and trauma.

Brachioplasty – an arm lift to reshape your upper arm – can help remove sagging skin and fat to provide a toned appearance. It involves tissue being excised from your arm as well as liposuction to remove excess fat.

This procedure is performed if you are suffering from discomfort due to excess labial tissue. 

For a smoother and firmer shape, a surgical thigh lift removes excess skin and fat that cannot be achieved by exercise. It can also be combined with liposuction to eliminate any unwanted fat in this area. Liposuction alone can also be used to improve the look of your thighs, but it is not recommended if your skin lacks the elasticity to naturally reshape.

Body contouring after weight loss can reshape an area of the body in a natural way, removing extra skin and eliminating excess fat where diet and exercise are not making a difference. It can involve having a tummy tuck, breast lift or liposuction.

If non-surgical treatments for your carpal tunnel syndrome have been unsuccessful, then carpal tunnel release surgery may be an option to consider. During this procedure, a ligament is released giving more room for the nerve that controls movement and feeling in your hand. As a result, the progressive symptoms of pain, numbness and tingling can often be improved or preventing from worsening.

Liposuction removes unwanted fat deposits using suction on common areas such as the thighs, stomach, arms and neck. It is most effective for patients with a healthy BMI and who have firm, elastic skin. It can be used to contour parts of the body which are difficult to improve through exercise, creating a smooth, toned appearance.

Breast

A mastopexy, commonly known as a breast uplift, addresses the issue of droopy breasts, removing the extra skin and helping them to appear more youthful. It can also be used raise your nipples if they point downwards. Women who have breast fed their children can be affected by droopiness as can those who have gained and lost weight. Breasts also change as we age losing their elasticity. This type of surgery does not change the size of your breasts but rather improve their appearance, with patients reporting they feel more confident afterwards.

A capsulectomy is a procedure to remove breast implants without replacing them with another implant. It is commonly used when women experience a complication know as capsular contracture. This is when the scar tissue forms around your implant causing tightness, pain and distortion of your breasts. The capsulectomy removes the implant and helps restore its nature shape. Sometimes, implant removal can make your breasts look deflated, so some women also opt to have a breast uplift after this type of procedure.

We offer three types of breast reconstruction following a removal of the breast or part of the breast. Immediate breast reconstruction is where your reconstruction occurs at the same time as your mastectomy. Delayed breast reconstruction is when you undergo a further procedure after your mastectomy. 

The types of reconstruction include:

  • The insertion of implants inserted to reconstruct your breast. This is a relatively quick procedure which aims to match your reconstructed breast, but it is likely that the implant will need to be replaced after a number of years. 
  • A latissimus dorsi breast reconstruction which uses your own tissue from your upper back and an implant to augment the volume.
  • A DIEP free flap reconstruction which takes tissue from another part of your body to recreate the breast. 

Breast enlargement is often sought after by patients who feel that their breasts are too small, or one is smaller than the other. Achieving a larger breast size, in the proportions that you desire, can make you feel more confident, and this can be achieved by the insertion of breast implants under breast tissue or chest muscles during surgery. The average life span of an implant is 10 years, and it is likely you will need further surgery later to replace them. Breast augmentation can also be achieved by fat transfer (breast lipomodelling) where fat from other parts of your body can be used to create fuller breasts. Breast augmentation can be undergone in conjunction with breast lipomodelling for a more natural-looking shape and feel.

Breast lipomodelling is the injection of autologous (your own) fat into the breast to improve its appearance. Fat is taken from an area where there is plenty, such as the hips or tummy to increase the size of your breast or correct any abnormalities.

Gynaecomastia, the swelling of male breast tissue to a larger than normal size, can be caused by numerous conditions such as a hormone imbalance or obesity. Gynaecomastia surgery can remove this excess breast tissue and improve the look of your chest.

If you feel self-conscious about the size of your breasts or they are causing you to experience back and shoulder pain, breast reduction surgery can help reduce their size, lift them, and raise and resize the nipple and areola. During this procedure, breast tissue and skin is removed to ease your discomfort, improve appearance, and leave you with smaller, more natural looking breasts.

Nipple reconstruction is usually carried out at a later stage of your breast reconstruction journey. This allows any swelling from your breast reconstruction procedure to settle and for more accurate placement of the nipple. Nipple reconstruction will restore the look but not the sensation. 

Skin

Most moles are harmless but can be easily removed if you are troubled by their appearance. Some moles, however, can be a sign of melanoma (skin cancer), especially if they have changed colour, shape, start itching, crusting, flaking or bleeding, or have grown in size. Depending on the type of mole, we offer either shave removal or excision of the mole and a small border of surrounding tissue. Tissue removed will be sent for histological examination to confirm the nature of the mole.

If you have any problematic or concerning moles and skin lesions, we offer a head to toe skin assessment check for your peace of mind.

Skin lesions are areas of skin that are different from the surrounding skin, such as lumps and sores. In some cases, they can indicate a skin cancer. Most lesions can be removed under local anaesthetic and a biopsy taken to determine the natural of the lesion and exclude skin cancer. In most cases where there is concern about a skin cancer, a full thickness skin excision will be performed. This is where the skin lesion is removed down to the deeper levels of the skin and small area of normal tissue surrounding the lesion is also removed to ensure it is clear of any possible cancer cells.

As with any cancer, skin cancer may require surgery to remove the cancerous growth. We can diagnose or further manage the different types of skin cancers:

  • Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) — the most common form of skin cancers, mostly curable and when caught and treated early they cause minimal damage.
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) — the second most common form of skin cancer, mostly curable when caught early.
  • Melanoma — a type of skin cancer that can spread to other parts of the body. The main cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light from sun and sunbed exposure.
 

Mr Kalu is highly-skilled in reconstruction of wounds after skin cancer using expert techniques including:

  • Skin grafts – taking healthy skin from an area of the body to repair the site of your skin cancer removal.
  • Local flaps – moving adjacent skin to cover the wound.
 

He is part of the skin specialist multi-disciplinary team in Oxford where problematic cases are discussed in this specialist forum of specialists including dermatologists and oncologists.

Scar revision surgery aims to reduce the prominent appearance of a scar so it blends in with the surrounding skin. It will not remove your scar completely but will improve its appearance.

Head & Neck

If you feel your ears are too prominent, ear pinning surgery, or pinnaplasty, is an effective way to reshape your ears. The operation involves changing the shape of the cartilage (tissue) of the ear allowing it to lie closer to the head. It can be carried out under local anaesthetic but for children a general anaesthetic procedure is recommended.

How can we help you?
To make an enquiry or book a consultation: 

Email

caroline@mrpkaluplasticsurgery.co.uk

Phone

07881 788145