For many, the changes that Ramadan brings to their daily routine allow them more time to be with their family and reflect on their blessings. For non-Muslims living in the UAE, however, these changes can seem alienating - they may go to the iftars but cannot wholly share in the experience of the holy month. Dr Luiz Toledo, a plastic surgeon originally from Brazil and now working in Dubai, is one of those who finds it difficult to alter his routine. Without the religious dimension to Ramadan, he finds the month is filled with long, rather empty days.
He usually gets to work by 7am, but during Ramadan there is no need to be that early. This morning he arrives at 9am opens the curtains and turns on the lights. As his patient is being made ready for surgery downstairs, he replies to e-mails and arranges appointments. Despite his orderly air, though, he is not happy with the late start. "I've been brought up with this certain biorhythm. That's when my body's functioning well," he said.
At 10am he goes down to the operating room where he changes into his scrubs and prepares for surgery. Today he is giving an obese man liposuction. When Dr Toledo enters the room the patient is already under general anaesthetic and is lying face down on the operating table. The radio is turned on - someone has misplaced the new Madonna album - and the surgery begins. This is Dr Toledo's favourite part of the day, and although the operation is physically draining, he clearly enjoys it. His good mood is infectious and his surgical staff are all smiles. The procedure only takes a couple of hours. During the rest of the year he would normally perform two operations a day, but reduced Ramadan hours mean he can only fit in one.
Although plastic surgery has its fair share of detractors, Dr Toledo does not see anything controversial about what he does. "It's giving people normality. People are not normal and they want to look like their peers," he said, adding with a smile: "Obviously some people want to look more beautiful than their peers." He is animated when talking about his work and the beauty of the human form, so much so that at one point he likens what he does to sculpture - "except mine can speak" - before laughing off the comparison.
After the operation, Dr Toledo returns to his office and has consultations with patients. An Emirati woman wants to organise her surgery for the next week and an Australian woman is checking that her breast augmentation went well. At 2pm he shuts down for the day. Normally he would continue seeing patients until 6pm. "It is difficult for doctors because the time of Ramadan is very awkward. I am much less busy. Nothing is working. Nobody comes. Yesterday I had five consultations, usually I have 10."
With extra time on his hands he will go to the beach club and sit by the pool, or head home to spend time with his family. Then, at 9pm, after dinner and just when he would normally be settling down for the night, he is up and off to work again. "I come back here from 9.30-11.30 at night, which for me is not a good time. I'm not at my best at 11.30pm. I don't do this thing of sleeping during the day. I have a normal dinner, a normal lunch. It affects us differently from the Muslims."
This is the time Dr Toledo sets aside for more consultations - but it is far from ideal. It is too late for him and for most of his patients. "The Muslims cannot come because they have iftar and find it hard to be away from their families, and my western patients feel it is too late for them." Most of his patients are expatriates, while about a quarter are nationals. While the number of people walking through his doors decreases during Ramadan, the proportion of Muslims to non-Muslims remains about the same.
At around 11.30pm he heads home and immediately goes to bed so he is alert for surgery the next day. "I am awake all day. I don't fast because it's not my religion but I am aware. I feel all the changes that have happened in my day." amcmeans@thenational.ae
