Cosmetic surgery is neither a luxury today nor is it gender restricted. The Goan peels off the layers to check whether beauty is only skin deep
Looking beautiful or handsome is every individual’s desireand the increasing awareness for self-improvement has taken the demand forcosmetic surgery to an all time high in India and abroad.
India was hit by the wave in the early 1970s when the firstcosmetic surgeon in India Dr Narendra Pandya took the credit for starting thesesurgeries way back in 1971. Sharing his experience of four decades Dr Pandya,73, admits, “In my practice of 40 years in India I have witnessed the cosmeticsurgery undergo a facelift and most aesthetic surgeons can now offer apredictable, safe and economical option for looking beautiful and younger.”
Padmashri Dr Ashok Gupta, Board of Governors - MedicalCouncil of India during his speech early this year at Wockhardt Institute ofAesthetics, had disclosed, “In the US seven billion Americans undergo cosmeticsurgeries in a year and Goa is getting recognition as a global destination foraesthetic surgeries.”
Goa, along with the metro cities is gaining weight as acosmetic surgery centre on the medical tourism map and most corporate hospitalsoffer cosmetic procedures under various packages to foreigners as well aslocals. Though the expenditure of locals is less in Goa as compared to themetros, tourists and visitors from the UK, USA and Australia tend to spend moreas they can rest and relax after surgery in Goa.
The cost of these surgeries abroad is nearly three timeshigher. Goa has seen a rise in medical visas so as to allow foreigners a longerstay for the procedures and follow ups. People from other states also preferGoa. The male-female ratio in cosmetic procedures is 50-50, sources frommedical industry say.
Dr Rajiv P Usgaocar, specialist in reconstruction, hand,micro and cosmetic surgeries points out at the feel good factor, “All want tolook and feel good. Generally people who undergo aesthetic surgical proceduresare normal, healthy persons and not patients. As they do not want to know theworld about it, they go out of their state or country to maintain privacy andsecrecy. The plastic surgeon treats the deformed into normal but the aestheticsurgeon tries to give a normal person enhanced beauty, which is a difficulttask. The risks are not zero and there is need for psychological stability postoperation because if the expectations of the receiver are not realistic he mayremain dissatisfied with the new look.”
Dr Mohan Thomas, Cosmetic Surgery Institute (CSI), Panjimshares, “People in Goa are very clear about their requirements and very choosyabout the surgeons. They prefer a good result over bargains and hence rely onexperience. With the increasing number of tourists visiting Goa, cosmeticsurgery is on the rise, especially with medical tourism.”
True, a pleasant appearance may open doors to manyopportunities and happiness, especially at a time when the global persona ofbeautification is undergoing a total metamorphosis. But can beauty be only skindeep, is the question that remains largely unanswered.
