French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. Carla Bruni is six centimeters higher than Nicolas Sarkozy. To make that height difference less visible, the couple uses several "tricks." She does not wear high-heeled shoes any more and is bringing flat shoes back into fashion. While Sarkozy wears stack-heeled shoes. When they take a photo, Sarkozy always stands on tiptoe.(File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. When they take a photo, Sarkozy always stands on tiptoe. (File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A visit to Madrid for a quick 90-minute scalp lift might be just what the doctor ordered for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, famously overshadowed by his ex-model wife Carla Bruni.

    Dr. Luis de la Cruz has devised a new way of adding up to two inches to a person's height by inserting a silicone head implant. During a 90-minute operation an incision is made in the side of the head and the implant squeezed in between the skull and the scalp.

Dr. Luis de la Cruz has devised a new way of adding up to two inches to a person's height by inserting a silicone head implant. (File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

 

    De la Cruz, 47, claims would-be soldiers, police officers, air hostesses, models and firefighters are lining up for the surgery at his Madrid clinic. The operation costs from 8,000 U.S. dollars and is performed using a local anaesthetic.

    Patients are usually released from hospital the next day, and the only sign they have had surgery is a small scar - usually covered by their hair. De la Cruz has already carried out the operation on 17 patients.

    "It is a relatively simple procedure that can have a wonderfully positive effect on the patient's life," said de la Cruz. "Like most good ideas it came to me in a flash. I was approached by a young woman who had always dreamed of becoming an air stewardess.

    "She was rejected for being half an inch too small and asked if there was any technique to add to her height," he added. "At the time the only way was through lengthening the leg bones, which is an extreme and traumatic option. It got me thinking. She is very happy with the result and is now an air stewardess."

    The Clinica La Luz in Madrid is thought to be the only place in the world where the operation is performed. But people with long, thin heads are advised against the surgery as the result can look odd.

    (Agencies)