Plastic surgery is a branch of medicine that seeks to correct different body defects. The common type of plastic surgery is cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is done on parts of the body with no defects and aims at improving appearance or beauty. Cosmetic surgery is popular in the U.S, but the practice has spread to other parts of the world including the Middle East. The Middle East is known to be a conservative region that adheres to certain norms and traditions. However, plastic surgery is gaining popularity in the region. This paper is going to look at the reasons that influence people to have plastic surgery in the Middle East and the effects it has on the society.
Reasons Why People Have Plastic Surgery in the Middle East and Its Effects
According to gulfnews, the most common types of plastic surgery done in the Middle East are liposuction and botox injection. Statistics released in 2011 indicated that there were 3,179,652 botox and 1,268,287 liposuction procedures done in the Middle East. Some of the reasons that have increased the demand for cosmetic surgery in the Middle East include: lack of confidence, importance placed on beauty, and influence of the media.
People who do not appreciate certain parts of their body may lack confidence in social interactions. Aging and weight gain are some of the factors that make people be less confident about their appearance. This is why cosmetic surgeries like botox injections that are meant to improve facial appearance caused by aging have become popular in the Middle East. Liposuction is meant to remove fat in the abdominal area and make a person look slim. Obsession with looking young and slim is one of the main reasons that have caused an increase in the number of cosmetic surgeries in the Middle East.
A second reason that has caused an increase in cosmetic surgery in the Middle East is importance placed on beauty. This is mainly applicable to women. The importance placed on beauty has made women from the Middle East try to improve their appearance by tattooing their feet and hands. When the natural beauty starts to fade because of age and weight gain, some of these women turn to cosmetic surgery to enhance their beauty.
Influence of the media is another reason that has caused an increase in the number of individuals undergoing plastic surgery in the Middle East. For example, the E! Reality TV show called “Dr. 90210″ that featured a doctor performing plastic surgeries in Beverly Hills influenced people from the Middle East, and they started travelling to America for the cosmetic surgery. Some of these people included members of families that are powerful and wealthy in the Middle East. Royalty from various parts of the Middle East were also among the people that sought plastic surgery from the region. The increase in demand of cosmetic surgery in the Middle East made plastic surgeons from America travel to places like Dubai to offer their services.
One of the negative effects of plastic surgery is that it can be addictive whereby an individual starts with a single surgery, and then becomes obsessed with it. Cases of individuals modifying their bodies through plastic surgery to an extent that they cannot be recognized by friends and family have also been reported. Plastic surgeries can also deform the body parts if the procedure goes wrong.