JEDDAH, 10 May 2005 — Is it a fashion statement or a medical treatment? Depending on who you ask, cosmetic surgery can be a bane or a blessing — or even “psychiatry with a knife.”
Regardless women are taking advantage of the latest cosmetic procedures more and more. The percentage of the cosmetic operations during the last 10 years has risen sharply.
Some people blame television’s influence, especially singers and musical artists. Some teens are ignoring the risks or surgery for the sake of beauty. Most do not need the operations medically, but rather want to fix the nose, enlarge the lips, or lift the face.
Arab News contacted a number of people who have undergone cosmetic surgery along with some doctors to get an overview of the issue.
May Husni, 21, believes that most of the young girls care about the way they look. She said, “They are very much influenced by celebrities on TV. Some girls are desperate to look like the stars they like and are willing to undergo the surgery to look like them.”
Layla Mahmoud, a 26-year-old woman, said cosmetic surgery is very much needed if some one is suffering from low self-esteem and something about her looks disturbs her. “Medicine in the first place is not about treatment; it’s just improving the quality of life. Looks affect your life in general. I am very convinced plastic surgery is like psychiatry with knives,” Layla said.
For Amal Omar, a 21-year-old university student, opinion is restricted. She said that a nose job surgery to look more beautiful or photogenic is against our religion because it’s a manipulation of God’s creation.
Ahmad Al-Amri, a 27-year-old single Saudi, said that women who get used to this stuff show their interests in life. There are many things, according to Ahmad, that are much more important than appearance.
He said that he’s sure that the woman who is interested in such operations won’t raise his children in the right way.
“If a woman thinks that the artists and TV stars were created this way, they have to know that they are mistaken. Most of the artists and singers and superstars have fake faces, and you would be shocked if you got a glance at their looks before and after their abundant plastic surgery. It’s sad that our teenagers are falling for fake looks,” said Al-Amri.
Samir B., single Saudi man, was astonished that some women are changing the features that God created. “I don’t prefer her to be fake. Usually men like the natural girl — even with no makeup,” Samir adds.
Dr. Samer Keswaany, a doctor specializing in cosmetic surgery at United Doctors’ Hospital in Jeddah, said that cosmetic surgery has become safe and easy with quick recovery, which encourages a lot of women to try it. “Women who undergo the operation usually recover from two to 10 days,” he said.
He said that cosmetic surgery seems to interest women more than men. He also noted they have patients of all ages, from 18 to 65, and sometimes some 70- or 75-year-old women ask them to perform surgeries, but the average is 30 to 40 years.
“In the past people didn’t know enough about cosmetic surgery, but now we’re more civilized and cultured, and everything is available. That clears the way for the huge increase in cosmetic surgery,” he added.
Dr. Keswaany mentioned that cosmetic surgeries are not dangerous at all. He said the danger in the past came from the anesthesia, not the procedure. Cosmetic surgery has developed and improved. The operation takes little time and with local anesthetization. Patients can watch everything happening comfortably.
“Cosmetic surgery includes all kinds of procedures, starting with the face and ending with the body. Women go for liposuction, nose jobs, face jobs and tummy tucks. Those are the most common operations in cosmetic surgery.”
A local Islamic teacher said, “There is no testimony, directly forbidding cosmetic surgery or approving it. The Islamic view is always against changing God’s creation. God created us shapely, and it was said that changing God’s creation would bring His wrath. On the other hand, if there was a deformity since birth or resulting from an accident, in this situation some scholars of our religion approve it as part of treatment.”
