South Korean Plastic Surgeons woo the Chinese Surgery Market

South Korean Plastic Surgeons woo the Chinese Surgery Market

By Chandana Banerjee

South Korea is fast becoming known as the plastic surgery capital of Asia. Now its doctors are looking to China as the next frontier of the cosmetic surgery market.

In order to look like this, some Chinese women are turning to surgery. The strength of the beauty industry in South Korea gives them confidence in the surgical procedures.

Doctors from South Korea have picked up on this business opportunity. South Korean plastic surgeons hope that their plastic surgery will continue to develop and gain a good and safe reputation in China.

So far, the government in Shanghai has approved more than 10 South Korean clinics, with more expected to come.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

Woman dies after Liposuction

Woman dies after Liposuction

By Chandana Banerjee

A woman in Toronto died after having liposuction and this is raising concerns about doctors who are performing cosmetic surgery procedures despite not being licensed as plastic surgeons.

Thirty-seven-year-old Krista Stryland, a successful Toronto real estate agent and mother, underwent a liposuction operation at the Toronto Cosmetic Clinic located on Yonge Street in North York last Thursday.

Sources told CTV Toronto that the woman's heart stopped following the operation to remove fat from her abdominal area

She was taken to North York General Hospital and died despite attempts to revive her.

There are reports that the family doctor who performed the operation had training in cosmetic surgery but was not a licensed plastic surgeon, said CTV Toronto.

The situation highlights what many plastic surgeons claim is a major problem in Canada's medical system.

While plastic surgeons are required to adhere to strict regulations and undergo licensing, little can be done to stop family doctors or general practitioners from deeming themselves 'cosmetic surgeons' and performing similar procedures under far less stringent guidelines.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

Diego Maradona and Cosmetic Surgery

Diego Maradona and Cosmetic Surgery

By Chandana Banerjee

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona last month visited a clinic in Colombia to iron out some wrinkles and shrink his double chin. Maradona arrived in Bogota on August 28 to undergo what his personal doctor, Alfredo Cahe, at the time said was aesthetic dental work.

The 46-year-old former player took advantage of his stay to also undergo other procedures and "lose a few years," Alejandro Rada, a Colombian doctor who worked on the star, said on Caracol broadcast network.

Maradona's double chin was reduced, and "we diminished the number of wrinkles on his forehead and between his eyebrows," Rada said.

"We also raised his eyebrows so that he could have an even more expressive look," Rada added.

Regarded as one of the greatest figures in world football, Maradona played for Barcelona and Napoli, and guided Argentina to World Cup victory in Mexico in 1986 and to the 1990 final.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

Chinese favor South Korea for Cosmetic Surgery

Chinese favor South Korea for Cosmetic Surgery

By Chandana Banerjee

South Korea is known as the plastic surgery capital of Asia – celebrities in Asia like prefer heading to South Korea for nips and tucks. Now South Korean plastic surgeons are trying to crack the lucrative Chinese market. Chinese in fashion centers such as Shanghai see South Korean plastic surgeons as safer and more skilled than local doctors. Chinese men and women want ears, chins and chests just like the South Korean stars popular in China.

Kim, who runs South Korea's largest plastic surgery hospital BK Clinic and is one of the country's most successful surgeons, envisaged a bonanza in China after noting that 40 Chinese women a month were flying to his Seoul clinic for cosmetic surgery.

"I wanted to be the first Korean surgeon to make inroads into the booming Chinese market," Kim said in an operating room, talking to Reuters while performing eye and nose surgery on a client who will also receive liposuction.

"Unlike South Koreans, most of my Chinese patients come with photographs of a Korean actress and ask me to make them look like her," Kim said, citing two popular stars - Song Hye-kyo and Kim Tae-hee - as having the most mimicked faces.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

Time – A Korean Movie on Cosmetic Surgery

Time – A Korean Movie on Cosmetic Surgery

By Chandana Banerjee

'Time' is a Korean movie that deals with the subject of cosmetic surgery. Starring Ha Jung-woo, Park Ji-yun and Seong Hyeon-ah and Directed and written by Kim Ki-duk, this 97 minute movie is in Korean with English subtitles.

It's been estimated that as many as 50 percent of South Korean women in their 20s — and an increasing number of men — have undergone cosmetic surgery in their quest for ul-jjang ("the perfect face"). If this suggests that South Koreans are suffering from an irrational plague of body-image insecurity, you might consider Kim Ki-duk's "Time" to be a pathological case study disguised as a romantic melodrama.

Young, attractive and two years into her relationship with Ji-woo (Ha Jung-woo), Seh-hee (Park Ji-yun) is so insecure that she flies into a rage when Ji-woo so much as glances at another woman. She later apologizes for having "the same boring face every day," then vanishes for six months — the time it will take her extensive facial surgery to heal. She returns as a new woman, her name slightly changed to See-hee (now played by Seong Hyeon-ah), determined to make Ji-woo (still devastated by Seh-hee's disappearance) fall in love with her again.

'Time' will make you ponder about what we see when we look in the mirror.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

TV Shows on Cosmetic Surgery banned in China

TV Shows on Cosmetic Surgery banned in China

By Chandana Banerjee

It’s common knowledge that cosmetic surgery shows have encouraged many people to go in for cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery TV shows are very popular all over the world. But The Chinese government banned television shows about cosmetic surgery and sex changes.

A headline on the Web site of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said would no longer allow "shows about cosmetic surgery, (or) sex changes that involve public participation."

China has tightened controls on TV programs lately. At mid-month, state media reported that the broadcast agency had banned Chongqing Broadcasting Group's talent show "The First Time I Was Touched."

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com

Busan is the Destination for Cosmetic Surgery

Busan is the Destination for Cosmetic Surgery

By Chandana Banerjee

Korean cosmetic surgeons are in demand. Asians are flocking to Korean cosmetic surgeons in an effort to be made to look like their idols, Bloomberg news agency reported.

About 10,000 people journeyed to Korea last year for plastic surgery, the report said. While the industry is still in its infancy, tourists who want rounded cheekbones or flat tummies can choose from 80 clinics along Busan's Seomyon Street, known as Beauty Town.

Apparantly, Korean cosmetic surgery procedures are as good as procedures carried out in the U.S. and Japan, but much cheaper. Eyelid operations cost about US$1,100 to $1,600 in Korea, compared with $1,700 in Thailand, $1,900 in Japan and $4,600 in the U.S., according to Health Ministry research cited by Bloomberg.

Credit from http://www.surgerywatch.com