F rom Leslie Ash's trout pout to Jocelyn Wildenstein's' wind- tunnel look, amidst all the hype and horror stories surrounding cosmetic surgery, one message comes over loud and clear: if you're contemplating going under the scalpel, be certain who's wielding it. " The problem is that many people don't do that until it's too late," says Dr Alexander Aslani of Marbella's Cirumed Clinic, who has been called as an expert witness in enough court actions to know. Dr Aslani aims to promote the honest face of ' nip tuck', where patients understand the benefits and risks and receive technically- perfect surgery tailored to their needs. He looks back at a solid academic career with appointments as consultant at various prestigious units of plastic, aesthetic and microsurgery. Apart from these public service appointments, he has also been in private prac-tice since 2003 and currently also works part- time for a very prestigious aesthetic surgery practice in the UK, which enables him to perform more than 500 procedures a year. " Working with an aesthetic surgery company enables a surgeon to have a high patient turnover, since a lot of administration and aftercare is done from that side," he says. Thus, Cirumed Clinic aims to offer clients the benefit of a very experienced surgeon handling large patient numbers, com-bined with the morepersonal and attentiveafter-care of a private practice. The surgical offer goes beyond pureaesthetic surgery to include recon-structive work for face and breasts, and especially hand surgery. Dr Aslani had a highly intensive training as a resident in one of the worlds busiest surgical units, King Edward Hospital in Durban, South Africa, wherehe also completed a craniofacial fel-lowship. " The amount of surgery residents get to perform there is unachievable in the UK, for instance. One would have to work decades to get the same exposure. The surgical experience gained there has been of enormous benefit to my career in Europe," he says. Cirumed's consulting suite, overlooking Parque Alemeda in Marbella, is refreshingly unpreten-tious, decorated by Dr Aslani's wife and partner Jeannine, a qualified nurse who assists him during operations and handles the aftercare. Floral art is displayed on pristine white walls and the usual photographs of gorgeous, pouting models with flawless faces and catwalk figures are absent. Dr Aslani is a confidence- inspiring figure in his well cut suit, shirt and tie. ( If it's true that most clients fall in love with their cosmetic surgeons, he makes it easy to believe). But expect to hear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. " I don't believe in surgeons telling patients nothing can ever go wrong, but you need confidence in the surgeon fixing a problem, should it occur." The first consultation is something of a psy-chology session whereDr Aslani engages his intu-ition. " It'simportant that patients approach surgery without fear and for the right reasons. If they'reunder pressure from their partner to have work, or going against their partner's wishes, for example, it can lead to problems." Medical tests will highlight any physical barriers: Dr Aslani will not perform a face lift on a heavy smoker ( revealed by a simple urine test). " If you're smoking 20aday, your body's ability to heal is similar to your lungs'ability to function after you've run up four flights of stairs," he says. Cirumed offers the full range of surgery, from rhinoplasty to gynaecomastia ( a reverse boob job for men with too much), carried out at Marbella High Care hospital, USP and Xanit in Benalmádena. Breast augmentations account for 60% of his aes-thetic work, due to the high demand for that kind of surgery, though his special interest is facial sur-gery. Non- surgical treatments are also performed by Dr Aslani. Although, controversially, nurses and beauticians can inject facial fillers in the UK, in Spain this can legally only be carried out by a GP or higher level practicioners. Dr Aslani has never seen the episode of Absolutely Fabulous ( featuring Joanna Lumleyrun-ning amok with a Botox syringe), which has con-tributed tothe confusion between Botox and dermal fillers. " Botox reduces wrinkles by paralysing the muscles that pull facial skin," he explains. " It's important to understand the facial anatomytodecide which treatment will work best." For mastectomy patients, Dr Aslani offers tissue transfer, a more natural alternative to implants. For instance, ablock of skin and fat without muscle are harvested from the lower abdomen to create amore natural breast. " Reconstruction with a sili-cone implant is not always possible after irradia-tion, and the result can be less desirable," he says. Dr Aslani defends everyone's right to choose cosmetic surgery. " It's not simply vanity. If some-one is truly unhappy with what they see in the mirror, and can do something about it to achieve abetter qualityof life, why not? The joy and satis-faction from a good result is enormous, for the surgeon as well as the patient." Avda. Ramón y Cajal 7, 4 , Marbella. Tel: 607 307 515. www. cirumed. es essentialmagazine REPORTBELINDABECKETTPHOTOGRAPHYTANIAA. AVES 74 Contact business CIRUMED THE HONEST FACE OF ' NIP TUCK'