Aesthetic surgery gains popularity among men

ISTANBUL

Arab tourists are reportedly coming to Turkish plastic surgeons in the hopes of being transformed to resemble their favorite actors from the series.

Women looking to enhance their image is usually the first thing that comes to mind when cosmetic surgery is mentioned, but 2012 marked a watershed in Turkey amid figures showing that more men opted for breast reduction surgery than their female compatriots.

The techniques for aesthetic surgery and the recovery period have been reduced, leading to increased male interest in cosmetic operations, according to Dr. Alper Tuncel. Turkey is increasingly becoming a draw for people in both the Arab world and Europe, which has a high Turkish population, for cosmetic surgery, Tuncel said.

New methods

The greatest number of aesthetic surgeries in 2012 was conducted in the field of hair transplants, Tuncel said, adding that the operations were becoming more attractive with the deployment of new methods. The doctor also predicted that men would continue to opt for breast reduction operations in 2013.
“In 2012, women opted for the fractional laser method to remove the traces of the past on their face rather than opt for facelifts because the recovery period is shorter with this method. The other three most popular surgeries were breast implants, rhinoplasty and laser lipolysis, which is the removal of fat,” the doctor said.

Tuncel said methods like laser lypolysis, which can be applied to the entire body, would be more popular than liposuction as a new development in aesthetic surgery in 2013. “Also, semi-invasive treatments, which have been used to treat cellulite problems, will become more advanced next year.”

Effect of Turkısh series

The popularity of Turkish TV series, particularly in the Arab world, has resulted in more and more foreign men heading to Turkey to receive cosmetic surgery.

Arab tourists are reportedly coming to Turkish plastic surgeons in the hopes of being transformed to resemble their favorite actors from the series.

Many patients from Iran, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, Bulgaria, the Turkic republics and Arab countries have come to Turkey for aesthetic surgery in recent years.