UAE plastic surgery patients have taste for unusual

Plastic surgeons reveal some of the most bizarre procedures they have been asked to perform

DUBAI // ‘Fairy ears’, cheek dimples and feline eyes just some of the unusual features UAE plastic surgeons were asked to create.

While breast enhancements, Botox and liposuction are among the most common procedures, other residents in the UAE are looking for something a little different in their quest for perfection.

Dr Allen Rezai, a consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Elite Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Group in Dubai Healthcare City, said he has been asked to carry out a canthoplasty — a surgical procedure used to help create an upwards slant in the outer corner of the eyelid to create the cat eye look.

He has also been asked to perform surgery in which a small piece of the ear is removed and the ear is stitched together. The result is an ear that is pointed, much like that of an elf.

Dimples are becoming an increasingly desirable facial feature and some are willing to have surgery — which involves a small, man-made indentation — to achieve them.

“The most unusual requests we have had were to create cat-shaped eyes, pointed fairy ears and cheek dimples,” said Dr Rezai.

“However, all of these patients were rejected as I believe that plastic surgery should be performed based on the right indications to restore and enhance one’s appearance and not to alter the anatomy unnecessarily.”

He is not the only surgeon whose patients have made requests of a bizarre nature.

“I have had a few businessmen who have asked for their faces to be ‘frozen’ for their next business meeting to ensure that they had a poker face, devoid of all expression,” said Dr Roberto Viel, a plastic surgeon based at London Center for Aesthetic Surgery.

His brother Dr Maurizio Viel said cosmetic surgery can be addictive.

“In our 25 years in the industry, perhaps five to ten per cent of our patients would be classified as being ‘addicted’ to surgery,” he said.

“There are patients with body dysphoria. These are severe cases where patients have high expectations and they want results that are impossible. It is through experience or ethical values that we usually turn these patients away.”

Most plastic surgeons will receive unusual requests from patients, according Dr Matteo Vigo, chief medical officer at the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital

“The most unusual request I have personally ever received was from a 19-year-old girl who wanted to make her eyes look ‘feline’ by creating a very stretched almond shape through cosmetic surgery,” he said. “Naturally, I dissuaded her from pursuing the surgery.”

Surgeons have an ethical duty to say no to a patient if they are seeking a procedure for the wrong reasons such as pressure from a partner or if they are suffering from body dysphoria, said Dr Vigo.

A good cosmetic surgeon will always seek to give the very best, natural result by “enhancing natural beauty without creating any drastic changes,” he said.

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More on plastic surgery in the UAE:

■ Dubai's plastic surgery boom continues

■ Demand for penoplasties increasing, say UAE surgeons

■ Girls as young as 13 requesting plastic surgery in UAE

■ Men in UAE seeking surgery to remove 'CEO belly'

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Demand for enhancements from men and women is continuing to grow in the UAE, especially in Dubai, which has more practitioners for each head of population than any other city. Girls as young as 13 are requesting plastic surgery as the pressure to fit society’s definition of beauty becomes too much. The most popular operations in the UAE include liposuction, breast enlargements and reductions, and facelifts. And the use of stem cells is set to make plastic surgery even more popular. Aesthetic surgery will play its part in Dubai’s ambitious plan to become a global centre for medical tourism.