December 2, 2024
Lebanon Became “Mecca of the Plastic Surgery”

Lebanon Became “Mecca of the Plastic Surgery”

Lebanon has become the real capital of the plastic surgery among the Arab states of the Middle East during the last years. Clients are attracted here by the high proficiency level of surgeons, relatively low prices and mild Mediterranean climate.

According to Tony Nasara, the owner of the “Brazil Aesthetic Clinic” situated in Beirut, “the plastic surgery boom began in Lebanon in the year of 2000” (after removal of the Israeli troops from the South Lebanon). He says that during these seven years that have passed tours in Lebanon “with the purpose of a plastic surgery operation” appeared on sale in all Arab states.

Decline was registered twice – after Rafik Hariri’s murder in 2005 and during the Second |Lebanon War in 2006. But today, according to owners of the Beirut aesthetic surgery clinics, Lebanon can again be called “Mecca of the Plastic Surgery”.

Despite the fact that in many Muslim countries of the Middle East married women’s faces are hidden from the strangers’ sight, wives of the well-to-do Arab businessmen pay great attention to their appearance. To some extent this is explained by the fact that they are not working and those whose husbands can afford hiring servants are not occupied with household chores. These ladies want to have “Angelina Jolie’s lips or Haifa Wehbe’s breasts”. Plastic surgeons often have to correct hooked noses of their clients from the Persian Gulf or remove their double chins.

According to the plastic surgery centre “Hazime”, with approximately 50 doctors in its medical staff, 60% of their clients are Lebanese and 40% come from other Arab states. It is worth mentioning that in some Arab states plastic surgery is prohibited.

Although there is no official statistics, the French agency informs that approximately 1,5 million plastic surgery operations and 10 million skin lifting and depilation procedures are made in Lebanon every year. As regards prices, “to make a turned-up nose from a hooked one” shall cost you approximately 2.000 dollars in Lebanon. Similar operation in London costs 5.000 dollars. In New-York prices come up to 10.000 dollars.

Lebanon surgeons say that on the eve of the beach season the demand for operations on breast enlargement increases sharply. Rich Arab women go to far resorts and want to “keep in line”.

The plastic surgery services are also extremely popular with the young daughters of rich Moslems. They bring themselves to conformity with the international beauty standards before their wedding. Therefore there are a lot of 17-year old girls among clients of the Lebanon clinics. Apart from correction of shape of their breast and nose, this category of clients wants to get rid of undesirable body hair. Moustache and hairy legs do not adorn even brides from the Persian Gulf.