Plastic beauty: The number of women in Nairobi going for plastic surgery hits the highest level in years

By Emmanuel Were

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The number of Nairobi women seeking plastic surgery to increase the size of their breasts, enhance their backside and reduce wrinkles has hit its highest levels in years, inquiries by The Nairobian reveal.

In what appears to be a middleclass rat race to look young, savvy and sexy, some women go to great lengths to impress their suitors, spouses and peers.

Karen Hospital, for example, says the number of patients seeking cosmetic surgery last year was triple that in 2009. The hospital performed an average of 140 cosmetic plastic surgeries in 2010 and 2011 compared with 22 in 2009 and 64 in 2008. More city hospitals are also offering cosmetic plastic surgery to cash in on the demand.

The Nairobian has established that it costs between Sh250,000 and Sh300,000 to carry out procedures on the breasts, bum, abdomen, face and other parts of the body. Insurance companies do not usually meet these costs.

“More women are turning to these procedures because it gives them a youthful appearance and elegance,” said Dr Stanley Khainga, a cosmetic plastic surgeon at Aga Khan Hospital, who also heads the association of cosmetic plastic surgeons.

The Kenya Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons was registered in 2006.

The doctor, who gave The Nairobian a general view of his area of expertise without specific reference to his hospital or his patients, says it is human nature to want to look good.

This turn to the knife to look more beautiful is driven by the fact that more women are economically empowered and can go for these procedures, some on a walk-in-walk-out basis that take just a few hours. This means a woman could take the weekend off, or even just an afternoon, to undergo physical adjustments without undue interference to her diary. In the past, many such procedures were done abroad.

“The convenience with these procedures is that most patients can now walk into the hospital in the morning and leave in the afternoon. Nobody will know they have gone through the plastic surgery,” said a source at a city hospital, adding that recovery from some procedures may take as few as two or three days.

Or better still many of these women have their cosmetic plastic surgery when they are on leave, returning with a more confident demeanour and swag. Many of the patients who go to the clinic for cosmetic plastic surgery have usually already read a lot about the procedures on the Internet or watched YouTube videos

The most common surgeries in Nairobi are breast surgery, removing excess fat around the abdomen and increasing the size of the lips. Botox injections are also common to smoothen wrinkles and give a more youthful look.

Nancy*, for example, considered her breasts too big, and wanted the size reduced. After the procedure, the woman in her 40s not only had to change her wardrobe, but also had to consult a physiotherapist to help her cope with the renewed balancing.

However, inquiries by The Nairobian show that many more women seek implants to make their breasts bigger. There are also cases when women come for the surgery after giving birth because their breasts sag (or are pendulous in medical speak).

“The women go for breast augmentation to improve the shape and contours,” says the doctor.

There are also fat grafts to enhance the calf muscles for many women, who think their legs are too skinny and they would like to put on skirts.

Sometimes patients would like to have their buttocks enhanced, but the challenge for many cosmetic surgeons is that the women do not have enough fat to be removed from other parts of the body to help in the operation. And Nairobians who cannot afford such procedures have been known to turn to more physical derrière boosters like padded underwear.

But while others want more, some of their counterparts want less. This is when liposuction comes in to remove excess fat in the abdomen or waist. Surprisingly, there seems to be an increasing number of teenagers seeking help.

“There is a lot of liposuction among the teenagers because they eat a lot of fat and accumulate a lot of cholesterol,” said Dr Khainga.

More delicate procedures in city hospitals involve women who have gone through Female Genital Mutilation and want to reconstruct their private parts.

There are also reconstructive surgeries to correct birth defects or physical abnormalities due to illness.

But as the country experiences a boom in cosmetic plastic surgery, there is no corresponding rise in the number of experts. There is, however hope for more local experts as the University of Nairobi now offers a Master of Medicine in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery course.

There are currently only six registered plastic surgeons, with three plastic surgeons recruited last month for training.

This has given rise to quacks, especially those that purport they are experts in giving botox injections.                                                                             

Dr Khainga warns anybody who wants to seek plastic surgery to not only be clear about consulting only qualified experts, but also not succumb to pressure from others.

“It is important to ensure that whoever is coming for the cosmetic surgery is doing it for his or her own benefit and not for their spouse or boyfriend. You may divorce or separate and the next partner is not willing to have that,” said Dr Khainga.