Cosmetic surgery the latest fad in India

Those ads promising a perfect nose or chin, a slimmer or fuller figure, sure have had their effect. The number of cosmetic surgery cases in India have increased by about 150 per cent.

Those ads promising a perfect nose or chin, a slimmer or fuller figure, sure have had their effect. According to doctors, the number of cosmetic surgery cases in

India have increased manifold with a hospital in Delhi recording an increase of 150 percent in cosmetic surgery cases in the last five years.

Rakesh Khazanchi, senior consultant, department of plastic and cosmetic surgery at Sir Gangaram hospital said: "Cosmetic procedures like rhinoplasty (surgery of the nose), liposuction, male breast reduction, abdominoplasty have seen a whopping increase of nearly 150 percent in the last five years".

Among the non surgical procedures, botox treatment is one of the most widely practiced. Botox is a cosmetic treatment that blocks nerve transmission to temporarily reduce the facial muscle contractions that cause frown lines.

Microdermabrasion - a non-invasive procedure that uses a spray of microcrystals to remove the outermost layer of dry, dead skin cells and reveals younger skin, collagen injection, laser hair removal and chemical peel are the other popular cosmetic procedures.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), botox leads among all other cosmetic procedures with its usage increasing more than 2,400 percent since 1997. A number of well known TV personalities and yesteryears' movie stars are known to have used Botox.

Rajeev B. Ahuja, chairman of the International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS) said: "Peer pressure and advertisements promising ?picture perfect' looks after cosmetic surgery, drive most men and women to go under the knife".

However undergoing cosmetic surgery may not be so simple as most ads make it seem. Experts say that an unqualified or unaccredited pair of hands conducting a surgery can be risky with possible complications like excessive bleeding, scarring, nerve damage, skin necrosis and even paralysis of the face.

"There are a large number of aspirants who just require counselling. Very often a plastic surgeon may also need to play the role of a psychiatrist," Ahuja added.