The Big Interview

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 25th March 2010

Cosmetic Surgery & Aesthetics Guide interviews top cosmetic doctor Martin Kinsella

What inspired you to become a cosmetic doctor?

I've always had an interest in the way people's faces are made up, and how that changes with age. I studied maxillofacial surgery as part of my medical qualification and did some dentistry as part of that, which led on to facial aesthetic work using Botox and fillers, so it just took off from there.

What advice would you give to patients when choosing a cosmetic doctor?
It's important to look at the doctor's background and check their qualifications. A lot of practitioners are very popular, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're the best.

The aesthetics industry is very lucrative, so it is imperative that you fully investigate a practitioner and question their motives for going into the industry; I trained in medicine and facial surgery, so for me it's a natural progression, but these days you get vets offering Botox on the side, and you have to ask yourself why. Nine times out of ten it's a money thing.

You also need to look at the premises they're operating in, because that will give you an idea of how seriously they take the business.

How do you evaluate your patients?
There are three things that you need to take into account. Firstly, the quality of the skin - I like to think of the skin as the canvas. You also need to look at wrinkles and the contours of the face.

I think when things go wrong - when you see people who look like they've had too much done - it's because the doctor hasn't got the balance right. I get a lot of people coming into my clinic who've had Botox and fillers; they haven't got a line on their face and their skin is good, but they still look 55 and they want to know why. It's usually because the contours haven't been changed.

You offer a wide range of treatments; is there one in particular that really stands out?
Personally, I think one of the best treatments on the market is laser resurfacing, using a fractional CO2 laser. CO2 lasers first came out about ten years ago and were very in vogue, but the problem was that it resulted in six weeks' downtime afterwards.

Now, with the fractional lasers, the downtime has been reduced to a week, and the results are magnificent. With a lot of treatments the results vary tremendously depending on the patient, but with a CO2 laser the results are consistently very good on all patients.

The laser is ablative, it burns the top layer of the skin off. There's a saying, 'no pain, no gain', and to be honest it's true. Fractional laser resurfacing isn't the most pleasant experience in the world - it doesn't hurt much at the time, but it does cause downtime and it can be quite sore afterwards - but as the skin grows back, within a week, people can look five years younger, sometimes even more.

So who's the ideal candidate for fractional laser resurfacing?
It works brilliantly on people with very crêpey skin with a lot of fine lines that can't be treated with Botox or fillers. A fractional CO2 laser will tighten the skin, eliminating those lines and minimising pores. It also works well on acne scarring.

But the absolute best candidate is a former heavy smoker or sun worshipper as they often develop a serious attitude to skin improvement so will stick to the aftercare regime, which really helps to create outstanding results.

You are clearly very experienced in facial aesthetics, but do you offer body treatments as well?
One body treatment we offer is Macrolane, which is great for breast augmentation. It's commonly thought that Macrolane is only for the flat chested, but I've had some great results with patients who have
quite large breasts but have lost volume through pregnancy and breast-feeding. Macrolane is very good for people who don't want surgery.

It only lasts 18 months, but that's not necessarily a disadvantage; breast implants can last up to ten years but studies show that after two to three years only half of people asked are still happy with their implants, and that tails off further once you get to seven or eight years.

Finally, what are the top treatments you would recommend at this time of year?
Because it's still winter, skin treatments like laser resurfacing which need a bit of downtime are good, because you tend to be spending more time indoors anyway. It's also a good time to be thinking about vein treatments, for the face and the body, as they take a few months to produce results so, if you have the treatment now, you'll be looking great for the summer.