The concept of extreme transformation that defines the ever-expanding city of Dubai doesn't just apply to architecture and urban planning.
Dubai is now also home to the highest number of plastic surgeons per capita in any city in the world according to Dr. Maurizio Viel, a plastic surgeon based at the London Centre for Aesthetic Surgery, as referenced in The National .
“The reason is that the plastic surgeons here are highly reputable, with practices in other major cities around the world,” Dr. Allen Rezai, a consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Elite Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Group in Dubai Healthcare City, told The National.
“We have hospitals that offer the highest standards of care. What is more, Dubai’s prime location between east and west is known to be a huge plus point.”
Beirut has long seen itself as the regional plastic surgery hub . However, a noted decrease in "health tourism" has coincided with an overall decrease in tourism since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, which has affected neighboring Lebanon.
Lebanese men and women have kept the market going however, with one former graduate student from the American University of Beirut estimating that as many as one in three Lebanese women have had a procedure done, based on her thesis research. Still with Lebanese Health Minister Wael Abu Faour also cracking down on shady plastic surgery clinics, locals may not be deterred but tourists may think twice about doing a procedure in Beirut, especially with the alternative of Dubai available.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital reported that plastic surgeries conducted at its Dubai premises increased by 15 percent from 2013 to 2014. Liposuction, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), breast surgery, cosmetic gynaecology and rhinoplasty were the most popular surgeries.
However, the UAE and Lebanon are definitely not the only regional countries obsessed with plastic surgery. A recent study by King Saud University in Saudi Arabia revealed that 30 percent of Saudis plan to undergo rhinoplasty (nose jobs) in the future. The supervising professor of the study, Dr. Amani Obaid, also said that among men, demand for nose surgery had gone up 20 percent.
“The reasons to get a nose job vary between health and beautification reasons. Health reasons include difficulties breathing or fractures due to accidents. However, beauty remains a priority for many of the Saudis opting to go under the knife,” Obaid told the Saudi Gazette .
Apparently nose jobs aren't the only procedures men are looking for, however. Penoplasties (penis enlargements) are on the rise in the UAE as well. According to The National, several doctors have seen an increase in patients asking for the procedure.
"There are more requests for this type of surgery now,” Dr. Mohan Rangaswamy from Plastic Surgery Works in Dubai told The National.
“With greater information available through the Internet in the privacy of one’s home, more men want to explore that possibility. Also at play are factors such as the increase in numbers of women getting all sorts of plastic surgery done with the men feeling kind of left behind."