South Korea's Metropolitan Government in Seoul is in the planning stages for its Seoul Center for Aesthetic Medical Tourism General Support, which boasts a complex of medical institutions, post-operative care accommodations and a multilingual counseling staff. According to the Indian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, in the past ten years, the number of cosmetic procedures in India has increased five-fold — even among men. This in a nation in which the perceived "superficiality" of such surgery runs counter to a culture that eschews materialism. Satellite television and the Internet are patients' windows on the possible just as the global economy boosts disposable income, making such possibilities attainable. Even given differing aesthetic preferences, a world close-knit by technology and communications reveals a common human desire to improve the way we feel bout ourselves. It's a phenomenon that knows no borders.One of your cosmetic surgeon peers, Dr. Kamal Saleh, wrote us from Qatar: "I have, daily, three to six patients asking for Botox in my clinic in Al-Emadi Hospital in Doha. Also they ask for any updates in plastic and cosmetic surgery, looking for the newest procedures or devices that appear on the Net or in international clinics. I think this is related to the speed of the growth of this country and the increase in the financial, economic power of the people, the higher standard of educational status..." The innate drive for aesthetic surgeons to innovate with tools and technique is further enhanced by shared surgical leadership and competition from all corners of the Earth. From this global surge, both in consumer fascination and in surgical vision, the discipline can only benefit. |
