Allegations are afoot that Donald Trump is personally choosing a handful of the women in the Miss Universe pageant. Instead of leaving the process to the judges, choreographer Michael Schwandt says that Trump takes several picks into his own hands.

“We line them up in alphabetical order in one single-file line across the stage,” Schwandt said in an interview with Guanabee.com. “And he basically walks by and has an assistant that takes notes on all the girls. And it’s just kind of common knowledge that he picks six of the top fifteen single-handedly. So, the other nine of the top fifteen are judged in a preliminary show the week before and picked by those judges, but he picks six of the top fifteen.”

Schwandt said he thinks Trump is doing this out of distaste for past pageant results.

“He left it all up to preliminary judging in the past, and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top fifteen,” he said. “And he was kind of upset about that. And he decided that he would pick a certain number and let the judges pick a certain number.”

This speculation ties into allegations of another unfair advantage in the pageant world: cosmetic surgery. Many contestants have been rumored to undergo plastic surgery to attain winner-level perfection. In fact, some of Trump’s favorites may have achieved their sash-worthy appearance by going under the knife. It’s all conjecture, of course, since the women don’t often admit it.

Even after their turn on stage and the winner has been chosen, many contestants will turn to cosmetic surgery (again) to maintain their looks. For one thing, there is the factor of weight gain after a pageant, since contestants often diet and exercise relentlessly to keep their weight down before the big event. Once the contest is over, they may indulge themselves. But, to get back down to pageant weight, they either return to a strict diet and fitness regimen or get liposuction for a fast fix.

“At competition level, weight is ridiculous because everyone is working out so hard and watching everything they eat,” Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee told FOXNews.com. “Then, when you win, you’re traveling and you can’t workout religiously anymore.”

Rather than keeping their trips to the cosmetic surgeon hush-hush, perhaps pageant contestants should take their cues from a new competition in Europe this fall: Miss Plastic Hungary. Pageant contestants must have undergone at least one cosmetic procedure that required either general or local anesthesia to qualify for the event. The ceremony is set for October 9th, and perhaps the winner of this innovative beauty contest will be chosen fair and square.

An upcoming beauty pageant in Hungary has been designed to break new ground by changing local views about plastic surgery.

The Miss Plastic Hungary 2009 pageant is open to women ages 18 to 30 who have undergone at least one cosmetic procedure that involves general or local anesthesia.

Officials say the contest may help the region turn a cultural corner. In years past, cosmetic surgery was out of favor in Hungary. Critics had complained that women who have plastic surgery tend to get results that look fake rather than naturally beautiful.

But pageant officials say the contest will demonstrate how Hungarian cosmetic surgery techniques have advanced in the past decade – providing a viable and affordable way for women to look naturally beautiful and improve their self-image.

The price of plastic surgery in Hungary has also become quite alluring through the years. A face lift in this region costs less than half the price a woman might pay in the United Kingdom.

The pageant is open to any woman with a Hungarian residence, regardless of her nationality. The ceremony is set for October 9th, and so far, more than 100 women have signed up. But, there can only be three winners. According to the contest website, the crowned queen receives the key to her new apartment, the runner up drives away in a new car, and the second runner up will win a vacation for two to Kenya.

In this week’s edition of Plastic Surgery News: Can a drug actually prevent wrinkles? An experimental treatment shows promise! And, we’ll fill you in on a beauty contest for plastic surgery patients, and tell you about the growing trend of brides and grooms getting a little nip and tuck before their trip down the aisle. Plus, is the government planning to tax plastic surgery? We’ll talk to a health care attorney to get to the facts.

All of those stories and more are featured in this week’s newscast. Click the screen below to catch Plastic Surgery News now!

Organizations mentioned in this episode:

• Miss Plastic Hungary
• Procter & Gamble
• London Daily Mail
• Transform Medical Group, Newcastle
• Action Against Medical Accidents
• American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
• Dr. Brian Reagan
• Michael Byrd, healthcare attorney
• U.S. Senate Finance Committee