Cosmetic Colleagues
The latest office bonding technique is 'colleague surgery' - a group of fellow workers booking cosmetic surgery together. Here, three women reveal how they made a pact to have liposuction at the same time.
Jane Cockerton, from Camberly, Surrey is a retail manager of The Caviar House in London's Piccadily, where she works with the other two women. Jane had liposuction on her stomach and hips.
I'd never liked my tummy. It wasn't terrible but I felt merserable about it being flabby. I was 14 stone, a dress size 16, and had little confidence. Ten years ago I was a very bubbly person but as I gained weight I lost the confidence to go out socially.
I tried to hide away and always wore long tops that covered my figure. I'd rarely go out with friends and when I did I'd look enviously at younger women in little tops. I felt I couldn't compete in any way.
Five years ago I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was a difficult time physically and emotionally and I had an operation to get rid of the cancerous cells. Luckily it was successful but going through something like that makes you realise life is too short to put things off, so when Sarah and Janet, my work colleagues at The Caviar House, started talking about liposuction during a lunch break, I was immediately interested.
We were just chatting when someone asked what we'd have for Christmas if we could have anything at all. We giggled about having surgery and "new bodies". I thought I was the only one who felt insecure about their body but to my surprise both Sarah and Janet started saying they'd have liposuction too.
I had a medical insurance policy before I came ill, which meant I received a good sum of money after my operation. It seemed to make sense to use it for something like this and make a fresh start. Before we knew it, our boss, who'd heard of a good surgeon, was on the phone booking a consultation for us.
It seemed like such a pipe dream that right up until the actual day of the appointment I didn't really believe it would happen. I thought that perhaps it was a bit of an office joke, but it started to snowball. Working in the same office meant we were constantly egging each other on.
I'd heard horror stories of people being in terrible pain afterwards, so part of me was nervous. The day of the surgery itself - just three months after liposuction was first mentioned - went by in a blur.
We all met at waterloo Station in London and went to the surgery together. I remember thinking "It's not too late to change your mind," but I looked at Janet and I knew I couldn't let her down.
The worst bit was having to stand naked in the theatre and be marked up in yellow iodine paint but I was soon given a general anaesthetic and I remember falling asleep.
I had liposuction on my upper and lower stomach, thighs, around the hips and on my waist. I had a couple of painkillers when I first came round from the anaesthetic because I felt slightly uncomfortable but I didn't need any more pain relief. Two hours after the operation I was able to go home. As I got ready to leave the hospital I looked in the mirror and thought "Oh my God - where has my stomach gone?" I was over the moon.
The money it cost for the operation was money well spent. I can now wear little tops exactly like those I wore 20 years ago.
To celebrate the new me I went on holiday to see an old friend in Singapore. She did not know about me having the operation and to see her face when I walked out of the airport was such a thrill.
I am now a size 12 and weigh 11 stone. I just wish I'd done it 10 years ago.
Janet Sullivan, from Upminister in Essex is the manager of The Caviar House. She had liposuction done on three sections of her stomach.
Though I tried every diet under the sun and exercised, nothing shifted my bulge, so I'd always been paranoid about my tummy. I'd rarely shop for clothes - I feared being seen in the changing rooms. At work I was known as "Jacket Janet" because I'd never be seen without a cover-up for my tummy.
It came to a head last summer. I'd saved up to go on a fabulous beach break with a friend to a villa near Alicante in Spain with a stunning pool but I just stood indoors at the window waiting for everyone to leave the poolside for lunch so I could swim without anyone watching.
I've been in my job for eight years, so I know Sarah and Jane quite well. When the subject of liposuction came up, I immediately confessed to hating my stomach, which was quite brave for me because until then I'd been very private about it. After giggling for a while we said "Why don't we all get it done together?" I would never in a million years have considered surgery by myself. I don't have the confidence but there was something about it being part of a gang, a bit like a dare, that felt exciting and spurred me on.
We specifically requested the same day for surgery - we'd all gone in to this together and we were determined to see it through together - and when it arrived it felt like a big adventure. I was both nervous and excited.
At the clinic we filtered off into our own rooms along the same corridor. It was only when I was alone I started to feel sick. I began wondering what the hell I was doing - was I there just because Sarah and Jane wanted surgery? What if anything went wrong? The surgeon calmed my nerves by talking me through everything.
The operation took about an hour and a half. The first thing I remember after coming round was how well I felt. I couldn't believe it. I looked down at my stomach, which was heavily bandaged. Already I could see a huge difference. I wasn't in any pain and within half an hour I was up and about. I left the clinic two hours later.
We were back at our desks on the Monday and after a few days the slight swelling of my tummy had gone down. I was amazed to see that I'd gone from 11 stone and a size 14 to nine stone and a size 10.
We'd only told a few of our colleagues - we wanted to see if people noticed, but we needn't have worried. The amount of comments about how good we looked was amazing.
We're even thinking of having something else done together now - perhaps a facelift if and when we all need one. Surgery changed my life and gave me so much more self-confidence but I'd never have done it without my co-workers.
Sarah Goodhall is The Caviar Shop office manager. She had liposuction in six places on her legs.
Ever since I was a child I'd had chunky legs. I was teased at school and as I grew older I never stopped disliking them. I'd go out for the evening and all I'd think about was how my legs were rubbing together. I'd never wear shorts or leggings because I hated the shape of my legs so much.
Because we joke so much about stuff in the office, I never truly thought we'd actually go through with the surgery. Until the moment I arrived at the clinic, I said to myself "If Jane pulls out, I'm out too", but there was something very motivating about doing it as a little gang.
I couldn't let the girls down and it was a chance for me to feel good about my body for the first time in my life. The nurse told me they had removed almost five litres of fat. I was elated, even though my legs were quite uncomfortable. I pulled away the covers and couldn't believe how much slimmer I looked.
I went from a dress size 18 to a 14 but it took five months to get there and for the swelling to go down. Comparing my surgery with the others was a bit depressing because their results were so much more immediate.
Now, though, I love it. My confidence has returned and for the first time in my life I bought a bikini and a tiny sarong for my summer holiday. Walking to work the other day, I caught a reflection of myself in a window. For the first time I could see the daylight between my legs. It felt brilliant - but best of all is the fact that Jane and Janet have become two of my greatest friends. I feel we'll be friends for life.
The three women attended Linia Clinic, Harley Street, London.
