SPANISH:A LEADING Spanish plastic surgeon has pioneered a procedure to increase a person's height by up to 4 cm (1½ inches) without using radical surgery.
Just over a year ago Dr Luis de la Cruz of Clinica la Luz in Madrid was approached by one of his patients who said her daughter was very depressed after failing to become an airline stewardess.
"She had passed all the exams, but was turned down because she was 1.5cm too short," he explains. He began to ponder her problem and came up with an idea for an operation less radical than a femur extension.
"If we can insert an implant into a breast, chin or cheek, why not use a similar technique on the scalp?" he asked his team, and they began to experiment, sculpting solid silicone into suitable shapes and sizes.
"It's a new concept, but not all that revolutionary," he says. The procedure involves lifting a flap of skin on the top of the scalp and inserting the made-to-measure disc. "We don't even have to shave the patient's head."
The operation, which lasts about three hours, is done under local anaesthetic and the patient leaves hospital 24 hours later.
Dr de la Cruz said operations performed so far were divided roughly equally between men and women who want to grow and are prepared to pay €4,000.
"Most of our patients are people who need to be taller for their jobs," he said.
"Among them we have treated policemen, models and airline stewards. Next Friday we will operate on a male model who thinks he is too short."
Dr de la Cruz explained that not every skull was suitable.
"We wouldn't operate on someone with a long, thin head. They would look very odd. Most suitable are those with wide or round faces. So far everyone has been very satisfied."