Haven't had botox? Then you're not 'in'

In a modern society where everything seems to be about being pretty, sexy and looking good physically, it is no wonder that a social stigma once associated with cosmetic surgery is now a thing of the past.
In fact, veteran cosmetic surgeon Dr. Corazon Collantes-Jose, president of Philippine Society for Cosmetic Surgery, said nowadays you are considered not "in" if you haven't had a botox or a facelift.
"It's the other way around. If they have the money, everybody would like to undergo [cosmetic surgery]," Jose said.
Popular among Asians are liposuction, facelift, botox, breast augmentation, nose lift and double eyelid operation, according to Jose. For Caucasians, on the other hand, she said they usually go for liposuction and breast augmentation or reduction.
Due to cosmetic surgery, 50-year-old females now look like they are still in their 30s. They are confident and they feel good about themselves after every surgery, Jose added.
"Once they become pretty, their character changes, their mood changes... They don't feel jealous anymore and they don't complain that much because they're pretty... The negative becomes positive," she said.
But looking pretty doesn't come cheap. For instance, Jose said, a basic nose lift surgery costs P25,000. It can even go as high as P70,000, depending on the materials used in the procedure, she said.
Downside
There are, however, numerous challenges facing the world of cosmetic surgery. One of them is dealing with patients who become addicted to the procedure.
Or, as Jose put it, the vain becomes vainer.
"For example, if a patient came from another doctor, ang ganda-ganda na ng gawa, pinapagawa pa [ulit]. Nakikita ko sa litrato, ilang beses ng in-injection-an. Tinatanggihan ko kasi you'll never satisfy them," she said.
She said addiction to cosmetic surgery is rampant in the Philippines. She said she would rather refuse her service to those who are "psychologically unfit" rather than destroy their faces.
Nowadays, even as young as 15 years old are going to Jose's clinic to have a liposuction done on them. She said this attitude among the young is the result of what they see on television, which includes values that seem to say physical appearance is everything.
"It will improve their self-esteem because some of them don't even like to go to school [anymore because of their appearance]," she said. "They lose their youth by trying to look old."
"Young girls are very fashionistas. They want to look like Britney Spears. They want to look like everybody else except themselves," she added.
RP as world's health tourism hub
The government is stepping up its efforts to make the Philippines the destination of choice among medical tourists, or people seeking health services outside their countries mainly to cut down on costs. This is in line with the projections that the market value of health tourism will surge to $60 billion by 2012.
Health tourism includes medical treatment, sports medicine, wellness treatment and cosmetic surgery.
Based on government data, health tourism in the country has generated $350 million in revenue in 2006. The Department of Health is targeting to increase this to $1billion by 2012.
Jose said, in terms of skills, there is no doubt that Filipino cosmetic surgeons can compete with other foreign doctors.
"Philippine doctors are very good surgeons. Innovators kami especially ng mga operations [tulad ng sa mga] nose deformity," she said.
She said doctors from other nations such as Japan and China would go to the Philippines to learn from their counterparts. Jose's group is set to hold a world congress on "advances in body contouring" from March 6 to 8 at The Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila where experts are expected to attend.
"Cosmetic surgery is a big industry now. That's why we're training doctors to at least practice safe surgery," she said.
Despite these efforts, she noted that the country still falls short when it comes to promoting the local health tourism industry. (abs-cbnNEWS.com)