Th. M., who will not reveal her age or name, is on the verge of getting married and tempted by the offers because she wants to get more beautiful, but is undecided as yet.
While the demand for cosmetic surgical treatments is driven mainly by women, many men are in the hunt as well.
Xuan, a male model, has approached the Moza salon in Binh Thanh District for a surgery that would make him look more masculine.
His enquiries about the services and prices there have impressed him sufficiently to say that he would bring his friends there.
It should give Th. M. and Xuan pause that many prospective customers of the myriad salons offering medical treatments and cosmetic surgeries are oblivious that such services are unauthorized.
Ngoc, owner of the Song Ngoc Beauty Salon in District 3, promotes a drug produced especially for breast lifts.
“Absolutely no side effect,” Ngoc assures her customers, adding that the drug is even mail-ordered by clients in the north.
But the owner of My Anh Beauty Salon, also in District 3, says the drug, and many of the kind, are effective only for a short time.
The Nhan Sac Beauty Salon in District 1 is a popular spot for women wishing to have slim waists.
Nhan, the salon owner, advises her customers to undergo surgery because it is the quickest way to remove waist fat.
“You pay VND8 million (US$485.29) and you don’t need to be hospitalized because we have surgeons right here,” Nhan says.
Like Nhan Sac, several beauty salons provide surgeries on their premises to remove fat or for silicone gel breast implants.
Typical among them is the salon run by Nguyen Xuan Ai in District 3’s Cao Thang Street, whose license has already been revoked by the city’s health department.
Anh Thu, a worker at the salon, says a surgery to remove waist fat costs VND45 million ($2,730) and the customers don’t need further care in a hospital.
It is not just private salons that are offering these cosmetic treatments.
Some of the 50 clinics under the Department of Health also provide services that they are not licensed to do under a decree issued by the Ministry of Health.
Dao Thi Hong Van, a doctor at the Van Beauty Salon in District 5, says that for about VND36 million ($2,200) customers will be given an anesthetic and can undergo a breast-lift surgery at the salon itself.
Kim Anh, another beauty salon in the same district that provides breast lift, facelift and fat removal surgeries, offers medical examinations before the surgeries.
“Girls of 17 or 18 years of age can already have breast implants,” the salon owner guarantees.
Dr. Nguyen Cuu Bao Hung runs a clinic in District 10 that offers laparoscopic surgeries that leave no scar.
Hung says his clinic is inspected every month by officials from the health department.
Customers can leave immediately after a fat-removing surgery in his clinic, he says confidently.
Hung argues that “only good doctors leave hospitals to start their own clinics, because they can deal with possible medical problems.” He also affirms that examinations are unnecessary to carry out fat removal surgery.
Hung’s clinic offers surgical treatment for most body parts, including the belly, thigh, breast, hip, calf and knee.
Better safe than sorry
In contrast to many salons and clinics eager to convince customers that the cosmetic uplifts they seek are safe and worth it, there are other professionals who advise caution when approached.
Dr. Le Trung Nghia at a cosmetic surgery clinic in District 3’s Dien Bien Phu Street refuses to provide any services out of his authorized competence.
Nghia recently advised a girl who wanted to have surgeries on her lips and nose to go to a hospital department that provides free surgery to correct harelips.
“In a hospital, you can receive post-surgery care, which is even more important than the surgery itself,” he told her.
Nghia also persuaded another girl not to look for an eyelid or nose job because she would look older and unnatural.
Customers should go to hospitals for plastic surgeries or if they want to remove fat, Nghia says, adding for good measure: “Their relatives should go with them.”
Any surgery can cause accidents, he cautions.
Many hospitals like the Trauma and Orthopedic Hospital in District 5 or Columbia Asia Hospital in Binh Thanh District also advise their patients to go on a diet or do more physical exercises instead of undergoing fat removal surgeries.
Doctor Ke of Van Hanh Hospital in District 10 lists a slew of negative effects that cosmetic surgeries can have.
For instance, a silicone gel breast implant can harden the breast and removing fat can block blood vessels, he says.
Nguyen Thanh Van, vice president of HCMC Cosmetic Surgery Association, says many people these days still think of cosmetic surgery as a miracle that can make them beautiful.
But in fact they can be harmful and many surgical outcomes have little life by themselves.
Van says many women wish to undergo surgeries just to abide by a physiognomist fortuneteller’s advice so that they can become richer or get married more easily.
Some hospital surgeons note that many women seek surgical cosmetic solutions because they lack self-confidence, but are not aware that people in general don’t like “artificial beauty.”
Meanwhile, some women are just addicted to cosmetic surgeries, they add.
Le Hanh, president of the HCMC Cosmetic Surgery Association, says many central and district hospitals have created their own plastic surgery departments to cater to rising public demand.
He estimates that about 400 people come everyday to the clinics licensed by the Department of Health.
Hanh notes that at present Vietnam has no training school for cosmetic surgeons, but the Hanoi Medical University and HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy offer short-term courses on plastic surgery.
The Cho Ray Hospital and the HCMC Cosmetic Surgery Association have also launched training programs recently, Hanh adds.
Hanh says he and other members of the association are highly concerned about the large number of beauty salons offering cosmetic surgeries without due permission.
It’s dangerous for the customers because there are no health agencies to inspect the technology or medical equipment at such places.
Hanh advises that people should only look for surgical cosmetic solutions when it’s really important and when any change suits their inborn conditions.
Any cosmetic surgeon needs to have the eyes of an artist, he says, adding that “true beauty is something natural and pleasant.”
Source: Tuoi Tre |
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