Mr. Prantl, you have been working for over twenty years.

How has cosmetic surgery changed during this time?

Anna Vollmer

Editor in the features section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in Berlin.

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Aesthetic surgery.

We don't like to hear about cosmetic surgery because it's not a protected term.

Anyone can call themselves a cosmetic surgeon, even if they have no special training.

There is a specialist in plastic and aesthetic surgery, which is the prerequisite for being able to do further training in the field of aesthetic surgery, where one learns the procedures.

And there are self-appointed cosmetic surgeons, for example a young licensed doctor can call himself a cosmetic surgeon.

Is the number of aesthetic interventions increasing?

Yes.

Aesthetic interventions are no longer taboo.

Today a patient said to me: “I am committed to having my face tightened and my abdominal wall and chest done.

As soon as I admit that I once had braces. ”This does not only apply to certain sections of the population, but as a whole.

How do you explain that?

I think the outside has become very important.

Much has become more superficial and short-lived.

That has been the case for maybe 20 years.

But development has accelerated.

On the other hand, social media is about "body positivity", one should accept the body as it is.

Are you aware of this trend towards naturalness?

Less, I have to say.

However, plastic surgery is often associated with the term unnatural.

But that is not our intention!

Our intention is to slow down the aging process by making certain improvements.

We plastic surgeons are far from the unnaturalness of oversized breasts with implants or massively sprayed-on lips.

My patients are about creating natural beauty.

If, for example, a woman has had a very small breast since puberty, one can use autologous fat to ensure that the breast is enlarged with the body's own natural tissue and so fits in with the rest of the body.

Is there an aesthetic consensus, “classic beauty”?

You can say that.

I've done a lot of research on this.

You have to distinguish between two things: There is natural beauty, which is so called because it occurs in nature, like the harmony of the golden section.

Certain proportions and dimensions that we find particularly pleasant.

But based on this, there are also fluctuations that are set by trends.

In the USA around 15 years ago, for example, extremely large breasts were attractive because implants with a volume of over 500 milliliters were used.

Today the chest has to fit the body.

The average implant size is now 250 to 300 milliliters.

Half of what was trending back then.

Which study results surprised you?

For example, that there are certain proportions that a very high number of respondents perceive as beautiful.

What was ticked as important for all of them was leg length, or the ratio between the circumference of the waist and hips, which is said to be less than 0.8 in women.

In terms of breast size, it was found that men tend to like them a little larger, women tend to like them smaller.

These are things that one already suspects and that the studies have confirmed.

Right now we read a lot about Brazilian Butt Lifts.

There are cultural differences.

Our global study has shown this.

Among the South Americans, the main focus for women is on the buttocks and less on the chest.

That is why the Brazilian Butt Lift with autologous fat is very popular in South America.

However, there is also a certain globalization of the ideals of attractiveness.