ASTANA – Plastic surgery in Kazakhstan is well developed and becoming more and more popular and affordable. Eyelid surgeries lead the list.
The upper and lower blepharoplasty and facelift. Photo credit: Daniyar Baibosunov
The prevalence of the procedures was discussed by Dr. Daniyar Baibosunov, a plastic surgeon at Arumed Clinic of Aesthetic Medicine and Plastic Surgery in Almaty, in an interview with The Astana Times. He noted procedures are well developed compared to nations such as South Korea.
“Plastic surgeons go to different countries to exchange experiences, most frequently to South Korea. The latest workshops and presentations were organised in London. Thus, I believe plastic surgery in Kazakhstan is on a high-enough level,” he said.
The tendency towards plastic surgery is more common not only in Kazakhstan, but around the world.
“More people want to have plastic surgery, often not only once,” noted the doctor. “People were more afraid before, while now plastic surgeries have become more affordable with cheaper prices and an increasing number of surgeons providing such services. The tendency is growing despite crises throughout the world.”
Women chose plastic surgery more than men do, he added. Approximately 4 percent of the clinic’s patients are foreign, far fewer than the number of local clients.
“Currently, about 95 percent of women and 5 percent of men do plastic surgery in our clinic. Approximately 10 years ago, there was only 1 percent of men who did plastic surgeries,” said Baibosunov.
A specific surgery that changes the look of Asian eyelids by forming a fold is very popular among the country’s regional residents.
“Girls do eyelid fold surgeries very often, but lately guys do them often, too. Like in Korea, there are a lot of girls in Kazakhstan who have narrow eyes. Turkey, for example, has a lot of people who become bald, thus hair transplant is a leading surgery there,” said Baibosunov.
Lipo filling (fat transplantation) is the second most popular type of plastic surgery, followed by breast enlargement. Clients who want to look like certain celebrities and completely change their looks constantly come to the country’s clinics.
“There have always been people who want to imitate celebrities, now and in future, too. They come with photos; yet such surgeries just might turn out well in some patients, while they might not in others,” noted the doctor.
Plastic surgeons can correct particular problems requested by patients, but not everyone is a candidate to go under the knife. Those with certain mental problems and those who do not perceive themselves as they are should not consider a procedure, according to data on Nespi.kz. Sometimes the surgeries have inadequate results.
“A surgery can, for example, be well done but something might be incomplete. A second corrective surgery will be done in such a case after some time has passed, usually after six months,” said Baibosunov.
Traumatologists rather than plastic surgeons should be consulted regarding issues about height, he added. If a patient is young, growth hormones can be prescribed, noted Nespi.kz. Leg length can be increased with a special device, a long and painful procedure which only a handful of people would dare to endure.
Breast enlargement is the most expensive surgery in Kazakhstan due to the high cost of implants, while plastic inserts in ears or eyelids can be cheaper, reported the website. Baibosunov believes plastic surgery in the country is not expensive; on the contrary, he considers it to be cheap.
“I believe the price is not high, considering the time and money a plastic surgeon spends to prepare for one surgery,” he said. “An eyelid surgery costs about 120,000-140,000 tenge (about US$350-400), which is not a lot for this complexity and a surgeon’s skill. The same surgery will cost about $4,000 in South Korea, for example. I believe that we have very liberal prices that Kazakhstan’s middle class residents can afford.”
