British doctors warn against 'designer dimple' cosmetic surgery

British cosmetic surgery experts have warned women against “designer dimple” surgery following a surge in requests for the controversial procedure. One cosmetic surgery company said it had received an increasing number of inquiries about Dimpleplasty in the past year from women who want a smile like UK singer Cheryl Cole, with an 11 percent increase in interest in the past month.

However, the firm refused to undertake the procedure, which experienced a rapid rise in popularity in America, as its long-term effects are unknown. Dimpleplasty involves making a cut in skin around the mouth and stitching the underside of the skin to a deeper layer to create a small depression.



The suture holding the skin in place dissolves to leave the patient with a permanent scar to maintain the dimple. “As the skin ages and loses elasticity, there is no telling how the scars will look as the face begins to droop - designer dimples could become designer disasters within a matter of years,” said a spokesman for plastic surgeons SurgiCare.

Another disadvantage to the procedure is that natural dimples appear only when a person is smiling, while “designer dimples” are present on the face permanently. While most inquiries into the procedure came from women, the firm said 10 percent of requests came from men who wanted to create a chin cleft and two percent from women who wanted to re-create dimples on their lower back that were lost following weight gain.