The cellulite remover: Someone has got to do it
Rachael Grey-Smart, 34, is the clinic manager at the Bristol Harley Medical Group, and a registered general nurse. She lives in Cheltenham.
Why did you choose this branch of nursing?
I'd worked in the NHS for many years looking after cancer and leukaemia patients and just needed a bit of light relief, something away from caring for terminally ill patients. I approached recruitment agencies and they asked if I'd be interested in this. I see patients wanting various things enlarged, reduced or tucked, and I do treatments - injecting lines and wrinkles and thread veins, and pummelling away cellulite.
Charming!
It's called endermologie; it's an all-over body massage with a machine which kneads at you like bread and breaks up the fat cells.
You don't get squeamish?
No, I try not to look horrified when they strip off! I remember one woman, about 38, wanting a tummy tuck, and she revealed a huge flap of a tummy like an apron sitting on her lap. In the course of a day I see a lot, but that was very, very bad, though the result after the operation was fantastic. I like being able to really change people's lives.
You also do penis extensions - is there a lot of call for them in the southwest of England?
I see about five to six men a day, a lot in their early twenties and late forties and fifties.
What is your role in the proceedings?
I run through the operation with them. If they want it fatter they have to be fat enough that we can take some good quality fat from their inner thigh or lower abdomen. I don't always examine them at the initial stage because most are so nervous. But some are so keen to find out exactly what we can do for them that they drop their trousers at the drop of a hat. I only look at the penis to a certain degree - the surgeon does so later in much more detail.
What does your job make you feel about men?
Quite sorry for them. For women wanting breast enlargements or tummy tucks it's not quite so bad, but men think every relationship is blighted by the size of their penis. Sometimes they tell me all about their marital and sexual problems and I feel like a marriage guidance counsellor or sex therapist. I like that aspect of the job - it's more holistic.
That's why you love the job?
Looking after well people for a change is nice, and seeing the difference in their confidence. And it's so varied - no two breast enlargements are the same. The downside is we get some complete nutters expecting to look like Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt. There's a limit to what we can do with the material - ie, the patient.
And you haven't been put off men?
No. Men set a lot of store by the size of their penis, but when you get to know the person you're looking at the whole package, so the level of attraction doesn't diminish.
Why did you choose this branch of nursing?
I'd worked in the NHS for many years looking after cancer and leukaemia patients and just needed a bit of light relief, something away from caring for terminally ill patients. I approached recruitment agencies and they asked if I'd be interested in this. I see patients wanting various things enlarged, reduced or tucked, and I do treatments - injecting lines and wrinkles and thread veins, and pummelling away cellulite.
Charming!
It's called endermologie; it's an all-over body massage with a machine which kneads at you like bread and breaks up the fat cells.
You don't get squeamish?
No, I try not to look horrified when they strip off! I remember one woman, about 38, wanting a tummy tuck, and she revealed a huge flap of a tummy like an apron sitting on her lap. In the course of a day I see a lot, but that was very, very bad, though the result after the operation was fantastic. I like being able to really change people's lives.
You also do penis extensions - is there a lot of call for them in the southwest of England?
I see about five to six men a day, a lot in their early twenties and late forties and fifties.
What is your role in the proceedings?
I run through the operation with them. If they want it fatter they have to be fat enough that we can take some good quality fat from their inner thigh or lower abdomen. I don't always examine them at the initial stage because most are so nervous. But some are so keen to find out exactly what we can do for them that they drop their trousers at the drop of a hat. I only look at the penis to a certain degree - the surgeon does so later in much more detail.
What does your job make you feel about men?
Quite sorry for them. For women wanting breast enlargements or tummy tucks it's not quite so bad, but men think every relationship is blighted by the size of their penis. Sometimes they tell me all about their marital and sexual problems and I feel like a marriage guidance counsellor or sex therapist. I like that aspect of the job - it's more holistic.
That's why you love the job?
Looking after well people for a change is nice, and seeing the difference in their confidence. And it's so varied - no two breast enlargements are the same. The downside is we get some complete nutters expecting to look like Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt. There's a limit to what we can do with the material - ie, the patient.
And you haven't been put off men?
No. Men set a lot of store by the size of their penis, but when you get to know the person you're looking at the whole package, so the level of attraction doesn't diminish.
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