According to the Independent, UK (online), some of the global surgery hotpots have revealed some surprising cosmetic surgical procedures.
With many nations realising the potential for cosmetic tourism, which can be a significant boost to a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the multi-billion dollar industry has advanced greatly.
Though some countries operate as destinations for those looking for cheaper (though not always properly regulated) procedures, some emerging markets are seeing a boom for some very particular operations.
India
Painful limb lengthening procedures are on the rise in India, and can add as much as three inches to someone’s height. The procedure is often undergone in a bid to improve career and marriage prospects.
The procedure has been adapted from techniques used in major trauma or in children with stunted growth.
Limbs can be encouraged to lengthen using pins and an Ilizarov frame, which can be slowly adjusted.
The section of bone supported by the frame is surgically ‘broken’ and over subsequent weeks the frame is made longer.
The gap that develops fills with new bone. In elective surgery, bones that don’t fuse, because of chronic infection or poor wound healing, can lead to amputation.
“This is one of the most difficult cosmetic surgeries to perform, and people are doing it after just one or two months’ fellowship, following a doctor who is probably experimenting himself.
There are no colleges, no proper training – nothing,” said Dr Amar Sarin, an orthopaedic surgeon in India. South Korea
The cosmetic surgery industry in South Korea is booming. Surgery is cheap and efficient, while the facilities, which have come out of the old American hospitals, are excellent and now cater for the global medical tourism market.
South Korea has the highest per capita rate of cosmetic surgery in the world, which has led to it being called the global capital for plastic surgery. Facial surgery is widespread and used to create more V-shaped chins, smaller noses (the second most common operation, perhaps because nasal bridges in Asia tend to be flatter and it’s easy to insert implants) and to alter eye shapes. South Korea has wholeheartedly embraced the fact that cosmetic procedures make for profitable business, whether for domestic or foreign patients.
Iran
Cosmetic surgery is on the rise in Iran, so much so that it is now among the top countries for procedures. Liposuction, permanent eyebrow tattooing and nose jobs are some of the most popular procedures. In a more conservative country where women dress more modestly, accentuating facial features can be one way to enhance beauty.
Javad Amirizad, a member of the Iranian Association of Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeons, says that of the 40,000 annual cosmetic procedures in Iran, more than 60 per cent are rhinoplasties. The dressings on noses after surgery are an increasingly common sight in Tehran and have even been nicknamed “bandages of honour.”
Brazil
Brazil was the second biggest performer of cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures worldwide in 2014 – its 10.2 per cent share came only second to the US (20.1 per cent).
The majority of surgical requests are for ‘improvements’ to breasts, abdomen and buttocks.
Brazilians lead the world in aesthetic surgery developments and ideas, from new types of breast implants to Brazilian abdominoplasty – where excess flesh is removed from the abdomen – and the famous ‘Brazilian butt lift’.
Worldwide
Surgery for female genitalia includes the ‘designer vagina’ and labial reduction – which some argue comes close to being FGM (female genital mutilation) when it’s a cosmetic rather than a necessary gynaecological procedure.
Although some serious problems can occur if inappropriately performed, it is becoming more popular in many countries.
Safer and also increasingly common is mons pubis reduction, which targets the area of skin in the pubic area, which some women find it embarrassing, especially when wearing swimsuits. The ‘camel toe’ effect can be significantly reduced by some form of liposuction and/or skin excision.
There is also a wave of new laser devices on the market, which tighten the vaginal wall and some also even claim to increase sexual stimulation.
