Lights and shadows on the cosmetic surgery industry

Atroubling case of bad healthcare in China brought the media attention to the multi-billion dollar industry of cosmetic surgery. A relatively unknown social media influencer named Xiaoran died last May after a triple surgery was performed on her in a dubious clinic in Hangzhou.

Despite her relatively small amount of followers — a mere 130 thousand in the largest country in the world — her story reached media outlets all over the world.

Tragedies like the one occurred to Xiaoran are not isolated unfortunately. It is estimated that over 60 thousand aesthetic clinics in China are operating illegally or without licence. Over 40 thousand medical errors and other similar incidents were recorded in China last year.

According to the Global Times, an average of 110 complaints are filed daily against medical practitioners.

Similarly, the 24-year-old movie star Gao Liu shared with her 5 million followers on Weibo a picture of her nose in necrosis after an aesthetic surgery performed in a clinic that already received 5 sanctions in 2020.

She will need an entire year to recover, and more surgeries to get back the tip of her nose. The

damage to her career is obvious as she was forced to cancel all the ongoing productions and many future commitments. Liu’s case

led to an investigation in the industry.

According to the South Morning China Post, 20 million Chinese have undergone plastic surgery in 2019. What is particularly worrying is that 70 per cent of the operations were conducted on very young individuals, including teenagers.

In the Middle East, the aesthetic industry has been booming for years now.

Lebanon used to be the capital in the region for number of operations performed.

Despite the population of 5 million people, over 1.5 million surgeries were performed every year, with patients flying in from all over the region and from Africa. Prices for plastic surgery in Lebanon can be up to 5 times cheaper than in the USA.

But the UAE have recently claimed the title of Regional Aesthetic Hub, with operations performed on patients from over 200 nationalities. Virtually at least a person from every country in the world had a cosmetic surgery performed in Dubai.

The rise of UAE impacted and reduced the number of operations performed in Lebanon by 30 per cent.

In 2013, Iran was the 10th country in the world for number of aesthetic surgeries. The most common of call has been the rhinoseptoplastie, giving Iran the nickname of Nose Job World Capital.

For dental and body cosmetic operations, Egypt is the place to go. Thanks to the innovative technologies and techniques — especially when it comes to operations in the abdominal area — Egypt is leader in the region. Lasik operations on eyes are also very common, given the abundance of

expert ophthalmologists in the country. Needless to say, prices for operations in Egypt are a fraction when compared to Europe and the UK.

The very invasive gastric sleeve procedure (VASER) costs half or less than the same operation performed in London. The beauty surgery industry is currently valued at over $50 billion with a growing trend projected to reach $66 billion in 2025.

IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THE AESTHETIC INDUSTRY HAS BEEN BOOMING FOR YEARS NOW