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Docs strike (vocal) chord


By SUN ONLINE REPORTER

HOT on the heels of Botox and liposuction comes the latest new trend in cosmetic surgery - the voice lift.

For those worried that their trembly voice doesn't match their newly firm face and figure, the procedure claims to be able to make them sound years younger.

"There are people who pay $15,000 for a face lift and as soon as they open their mouth, they sound like they’re 75," said Dr Robert Thayer Sataloff, a doctor who carries out the procedure.

"The wobbles, the tremors, they’re what we recognize as things that make a voice sound old."

There are two ways to treat old voices: implants can be inserted through an incision in the neck to bring vocal cords closer together, or collagen can be inserted to restore a youthful plumpness.

The procedures used to be performed on people with diseases or injures, but doctors began using it for cosmetic reasons after noticing the improvement it had on the voices of many patients.

The operation is now becoming popular with the general public - although it is not without risks.

Singer Julie Andrews was one person who found out the hard way that vocal operations do not always work.

She had the operation for voice trouble but sued after being left without her famous four-octave range.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004180549,00.html