Cosmetic Surgery Takes Off in India

By Dr. Surjit Rai

India is one of the countries to recently jump on the cosmetic surgery train, according to recent news reports. Cosmetic surgeons in Delhi have reported receiving hundreds of inquiries about many procedures, and this has been especially true since May of this year.

The new school year starts in July. Many of the people interested in improving their appearance are freshman university students – “freshers”. One young woman, who had a dimple created on her right cheek by a plastic surgeon, is quoted as saying:

• I’m not nervous about starting college. I’m going with a new look and a new confidence. Personality is important but when you first meet someone it is how you look and how you present yourself that counts. So obviously everyone wants to look beautiful.”

Most of the new patients are female and their focus is on facial enhancement. Popular procedures so far are rhinoplasty, lip enlargement, and neck liposuction to correct a double chin.

There are some male patients too, most of whom are interested in male breast reduction (gynecomastia treatment).

Driven by Competition

One B Narayanaswamy, a director of market researching company called Ipsos, sees this rush for plastic surgery as being motivated by two factors:

1. Role models in the entertainment industries, many of whom readily acknowledge that they have had plastic surgery; and
2. The fierce competition in India for the limited number of attractive jobs.

“You get any possible advantage you can,” he says. “So much depends on networks, not merit, that you need to make the right friends, go to the right parties and get the opportunities you might otherwise not get. If you have the money to pay for getting that advantage then you do.”

Indian cosmetic surgeons are also attracting people from other countries. One Dr Amit Gupta, of Cocoona International Centre, in Delhi, says:

• “I get dozens of telephone calls and end up doing eight or nine operations a month. Multiplied across all the clinics in the city you are looking at a pretty major amount.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Rai in Dallas, Texas, offers a full array of cosmetic surgery, including many non-invasive procedures. If you would like to know more about a particular procedure that interests you, please contact our office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.