Cosmetic procedures and surgeries are traditionally perceived as a luxury reserved for the wealthy women, but in recent years, they have become more common in the UAE. Today, according to doctors, 30 percent of the patients in cosmetic clinics across the country are men.
More and more people seem to search for ways to improve their appearance by means of cosmetic surgery, no matter how unpleasant, intrusive, and potentially dangerous it may be. There is no official statistics for the number of cosmetic procedures done across all clinics and hospitals countrywide, but experts say that there is an obvious increase. According to Dr. Allen Rezai, consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Elite Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Group clinic, roughly 30 percent of their patients today are men. And the most popular procedures among the gentlemen are breast reductions, followed by hair transplants. Women, on the other hand, prefer nose reshaping, body countering, and breast enlargement. Liposuction and the so-called tummy tuck surgery (which flattens the abdomen by removing extra fat and skin) are also very common.
Experts also note that a new trend is spotted – the number of non-surgical procedures is rapidly increasing. Non-invasive procedures such as fillers and Botox are quick, convenient and require no recovery time. Although most of the patients are aged 25-40 years old, there are also many cases of 18-year-olds and people from older age groups who want to modify and improve specific parts of their bodies. Here, we must note that these procedures are not allowed in beauty salons and spas.
However, doctors don’t clarify whether the larger part of plastic surgery patients are Emiratis or the increase in the market comes from the growing number of medical tourists in Dubai and in the rest of the country. Dubai Tourism, a government agency, is promoting the city as a top medical tourism destination. Most of the patients are coming from neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, but there is also a growth in the numbers of international medical tourists. In 2014, doctors expect double figures for patients arriving solely for cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures.
Among common cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, nose reshaping, breast enlargement, Botox, dermo-fillers and hair transplantation and breast reduction for men, an unusually sounding procedure is becoming more and more popular in Dubai. It is called “Vampire facelift” and it uses the patient’s own blood to smooth out wrinkles. In fact, the term facelift is not very accurate – Selphyl, as its actual name is, is a technology which includes reinjection with platelets-enriched blood plasma into areas of the skin on the face and the body. This rejuvenation treatment was recently banned from salons and spas in Dubai and it is now available only in clinics.
