KOCHI: If you thought it was just women who don’t mind going under the knife for their looks, you are mistaken. More and more men in the state are resorting to surgical correction, be it a tummy tuck or a nose job. The number of men going for it in Kerala is higher compared to other states and even the national average, say doctors. “In Kerala, the ratio of men and women who undergo cosmetic surgery is almost equal or we can say that men slightly outnumber women here,’’ says Dr Hari Menon, Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi. Doctors say that liposuction, hair transplantation and gynecomastia (breast reduction) are the procedures preferred by men. “Even compared to big metros like Mumbai, the number of men who do cosmetic correction is higher in Kerala. We had hundred-plus male patients last year alone which is a good figure compared to other states. One reason for this unusual ratio can be the fact that procedures like female breast augmentation are not very popular in Kerala,’’ says Dr Menon. Dr Subramania Iyer, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, says not just the affluent class, but men from all social strata approach them for cosmetic treatments. “While a good percent of the youngsters come for hair transplantation, liposuction is more sought after among the 35-plus group. The increasing acceptability of cosmetic procedures and the growing awareness among the male population can be one reason for the boom in demand,’’ says Dr Iyer. As cosmetic correction becomes more mainstream, today’s youngsters consider it as an easy quick-fix. ‘’Men are also judged by the way they look so there is no point in shrinking back. Earlier it was just the rich and the famous, but the new generation are more conscious about the way they present themselves. “The surgery was a major confidence booster for me,’’ Aravind, 26, who had a liposuction recently. Doctors say it’s mainly the youngsters (in the age group of 20-35) who come to them for finetuning their looks.
“Though a good percent comes for breast reduction, there are also patients for rhinoplasty (nose correction). For the last four- five years, the number of men has doubled. An average of seven new patients are coming every month. While the percentage of men coming for rhinoplasty is going steady for the past few years, there is more incidence of gynecomastia and liposuction cases nowadays which can be the aftermath of obesity caused by the change in lifestyle,’’ says Dr VG Aniljith of Elite Mission Hospital, Thrissur.The cost for cosmetic correction varies depending on factors like time and vital statistics. A botox shot to smooth the wrinkles will cost you anything from `14,000, while major procedures like rhinoplasty can range around `30,000 and more. A good hair fixing session will cost you around `50,000.