Aesthetic surgery in India finds its mention in 800BC when reconstructive plastic surgeries were being conducted. Infact, Sushruta, father of surgery, has mentioned about plastic surgery in his works, way back in the 6th century.
In the past century, plastic surgery has come to be categorized into two categories, namely – reconstructive or corrective surgeries and aesthetic surgeries. While reconstructive or corrective surgeries are conducted to correct birth defects, congenital problems and to reconstruct body parts, eg. Breast reconstruction after mastectomy; aesthetic surgery is largely done to enhance or reshape certain body parts to make them more aesthetically appealing.
While reconstructive surgery has been extremely popular since early 20th century when reconstructive surgical techniques were used to correct facial features of soldiers hurt in wars, aesthetic surgery has been gaining popularity in the past 3 decades. With more women being financially independent and several professions in service industry giving importance to looking good, aesthetic surgery market has grown almost 3-fold in the past 1 decade itself.
Demystifying aesthetic surgery: While swollen lips using fillers and anti-aging using Botox are well known today, the shadow is on the temporary effect of these procedures. Aesthetic surgery often is a permanent solution to an existing need of the patient.
“In India, top surgeries among women are liposuction and breast augmentation.” Every month, almost 40% of all surgical aesthetic procedures are for liposuction and 30% are for breast surgeries, which may be breast augmentation, breast lift or breast reconstruction. Rest 30% procedures are mostly facial surgeries like rhinoplasty, facelift, etc.
Top trends in India:
Increasing acceptance of permanent cosmetic procedures – Procedures like Botox have been popular since long as women believed that since these are non-invasive procedures, they are safer. However, with the availability of better techniques and well researched products, more women are confidently opting for surgical procedures. Aesthetic surgeries like breast augmentation are becoming popular among women because with the guidance of a well experienced cosmetic surgeon and by opting for well researched, US FDA approved breast implants, this surgery has minimal complications. US FDA approved silicone breast implants are lifetime devices and they give a natural feel to the breasts.
CASE – Rohini Gupta* 38 years, had come to me for a consultation for breast augmentation, 12 years ago. At the age of 26 years, trying to make her mark in the modeling industry, Rohini felt that breast augmentation would help her achieve better body proportions, increasing her chances of becoming a professional model, as she could fit better in western as well as Indian wear. Till then, she was struggling with getting a good body shape using padded or underwired bras to enhance her figure and look good in various costumes.
After few consultations and proper guidance, Rohini went on to have breast enhancement surgery under my supervision. She is now a happily married and mother of 2 children. She not only became a successful model but also went through 2 pregnancies and was able to breast feed her children without any complications.
It is for everyone: It is a common misconception that only celebrities and socialites undergo cosmetic surgery. Today, 80% of my patients are from normal households, some are working in professions as far and wide as students to company executives. Some are housewives; some are businesswomen, and some more, celebrities. The motivations for surgery are different, but the goal is the same. They wish to enhance their looks and image, to project the best to the world.
It’s about shape and not size – Body shaping is becoming extremely popular among women in India. Curves have never been so much in vogue, as they are today. Earlier a lot of women preferred using padded bras to enhance the size of their breasts. However, women with smaller waists find that using padded bra gives an unbalanced contour to their body. Hence, they are opting for procedures like breast augmentation to achieve shapelier bodies and better body proportions.
It’s a couple’s thing – Another interesting trend which is fast gaining pace is couples coming together for aesthetic procedures. Husbands are supporting their wives’ decision to opt for a particular aesthetic surgery and looking at the high satisfaction rate of these procedures, they are opting for procedures like liposuction and hair transplant for themselves too.
CASE – Take the case of 38 years’ old Mrs. Hetal Desai*, who after 12 years of marriage and 1 child, felt that she had lost body shape post childbirth, and this was affecting her personal life. Hence, she approached me for undergoing a breast augmentation surgery, without consulting her husband. However, after talking to her and listening to her case, I advised her to come back with her husband.
After I counseled the couple together, Mr. Desai agreed to his wife undergoing the surgery. Today, 1 year after the surgery, both of them are very happy and Mrs. Desai is extremely satisfied with her married life. In fact, seeing the results of aesthetic surgery in altering body shape, and in Hetal’s personality, Mr Desai opted for liposuction procedure about 5 months back. I have a lot of patients who are couples and opt for different cosmetic procedures, as per their needs.
Enhancing looks is becoming a part of lifestyle – While a lot of people are switching to healthier lifestyles, there is a great focus on looking good as well. While it is possible to lose weight and stay healthy by maintaining a good lifestyle and eating right, a lot of men and women are turning to aesthetic surgeries to achieve desired body shapes. For example, people who are regular at gyms and have stable weight, opt for liposuction to remove stubborn fat from areas like waist, buttocks, etc. since these are the problem areas from where it is hard to lose fat through regular exercise as well. As people are becoming more socially visible, the focus is moving towards being aesthetically appealing.
Age no bar – It has been a long held belief that cosmetic surgeries are an old woman’s tool to fight aging. However, this does not hold true in current scenario. For eg. Surgeries like breast augmentation are common among women across age groups. For reasons which reflect their needs, women across the age group of 22-65years are opting for this procedure. While women between 22-30years undergo breast augmentation to get better body proportions to increase their prospects at marriage or for entering certain career lines, women above 35 years’ of age undergo this procedure after completing their families and aim for getting their pre-pregnancy body shapes back.
Medical tourism – India is also becoming a popular destination for medical tourism and due to availability of highly experienced surgeons, good healthcare set-ups and well researched products at low costs, a lot of women from across the world are travelling to India for aesthetic surgeries. Procedures like breast augmentation, breast reduction, rhinoplasty, etc. are extremely popular among these women.
My advice to you:
While it is evident that aesthetic surgeries are gaining popularity across India, it is important to make the right decision to ensure a safe surgery and satisfactory results. When a woman decides to undergo cosmetic surgery, it is important that she finds a surgeon who is experienced in that kind of procedure, she must discuss all the relevant details about the surgery with the surgeon, should ensure that she gets operated in a well-equipped and sterile clinic or hospital and chooses products with established safety profile. This especially holds high importance for procedures like breast augmentation where breast implant, an artificial device, remains inside the body for a long period of time and hence, it is important to choose implants which are safe and have been approved by a stringent authority like US FDA.
Cosmetic surgeries can be extremely satisfactory and can help enhance the self confidence of women as well, if they practice precaution, know about the possible risks and make the right choices.
*Names changed to protect identity.
By
Dr. Lakshyajit Dhami M.S.,M.Ch.(Plastic)
Consultant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon: Hinduja Hospital & Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai
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