KOCHI: The recent death of Kannada actor Chethana Raj, after a faulty cosmetic surgery, has set off alarm bells among people thinking of going under the knife to enhance their appearance.Chethana had undergone liposuction, a medical procedure that removes fat from body tissue. Reports say the clinic she chose had minimum facilities and lacked optimal medical care. Post surgery, the 21-year-old artist’s lungs filled with fluid, and she suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
A decade ago, plastic and cosmetic surgeries were largely considered a privilege of celebrities and those in the show biz. That’s certainly not the scene now.Kochi is home to a number of cosmetology clinics, where people can opt for ‘lunch-break aesthetic procedures’ such as Botox injections and ‘fillers’ that make lips appear fuller or fill in hollow facial areas.
Laser hair removal is another procedure in demand, and it can be done in less than an hour. Sources say about 800 to 1,000 such procedures are done in Kochi every month.Dr Arjun Asokan of Renai Medicity, Kochi, notes that the number of clients approaching him for plastic surgery increased during the lockdown.
“This includes celebrities, mostly. People come in for chin tucks (double-chin removal), as they were spending a lot of time on video calls. People wanted to look good on screen,” he says. “With all that time available, they could opt for liposuction and rhinoplasty. We got our highest number of clients between May and December 2020. We had an average of 600-700 cases annually, with liposuction and gynaecomastia procedures topping the chart.”
Look and feel good
Besides cosmetic surgeries, these days, people are also opting for procedures that make them look good during occasions -- for instance, mommy makeover and pre-wedding cosmetology packages for men and women.According to the Indian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, female external genitalia rejuvenation and re-virginisation procedures are also highly sought-after.They include non-surgical procedures such as injection of fillers, G-spot augmentation and laser vaginal rejuvenation, and surgical procedures such as labiaplasty and hymenoplasty.
Safe, not sorry
A city-based senior consultant in plastic and reconstructive surgery says none of the cosmetic procedures is harmful — if done right.“Before procedures such as liposuction, a proper study of the patient’s conditions needs to be done,” she explains, requesting anonymity. “Also, such procedures entail the use of numbing agents that could cause fluid collection and complications, so the facility needs to have overnight ventilator support.”Plastic and cosmetic surgeries are done by people all over the world and they are completely safe, the doctor notes.“But it is paramount to consult an experienced doctor, rather than blindly believing the promises made by cosmetology centers,” she stresses.
Gender bender
The conventional idea that it is women who get nose jobs or fat sucked out does not hold true anymore. Procedures such as gynecomastia (correcting swollen male breast tissue), rhinoplasty (nose job) and blepharoplasty (correcting eyelids) are popular among men in the state, too, say doctors.