| |
Reuters, September
17th 2003
by Jalil Hamid
Click
to enlarge photo |
|
PENANG, Malaysia
(Reuters) - Nice tan -- the young woman in the pink bikini smiled
knowingly as she soaked up the rays by the poolside of a luxury
hotel on the Malaysian resort island of Penang.
Corina van Leeuwen, a bubbly 25-year-old, would be taking more than
just a glowing complexion back to the Netherlands by the end of her
holiday.
"It's gone from a small B to a big C, it has grown one and a half in cup
size," she said, surveying her breasts with pride. "I am very happy
with it, with them." |
Corina is just one of a growing number of Westerners who have booked
a holiday in Malaysia packaged with a visit to a plastic surgeon.
A Penang-based company called Beautiful Holidays is offering sun
and sea along with nips, tucks and implants.
Most customers want larger breasts, but there is also demand for
facelifts, nose jobs, botox injections and liposuction.
"They get to combine a holiday and the surgery together which would mean
a faster recovery, they don't have to cook their own food, clean their own house," said
Marloes Giezenaar, the Dutch owner of Beautiful Holidays.
"We have 45 clients so far. About 60 percent of them went for breast enlargement," said
the 25-year-old businesswoman.
Other clients were shy about giving their names but Corina, who runs
her own communications company, was up front about why she came to
Malaysia.
"It's much cheaper," she said stirring the ice in a glass of tropical
fruit juice.
"I paid around $4,000 (2,500 pounds). If I have breast enlargement in Holland,
it would cost me 4,000 euro (2,800 pounds) -- only for the enlargement. Now I
have a two-week holiday with it."
Giezenaar said ordinary women sought breast implants to boost their
self-confidence and "feel and look good".
Larger dimensions were for show biz types, she said.
"I think people don't want breasts like Dolly Parton, Pamela Anderson."
Breast enlargement is a big business worldwide. In the United States,
more than 300,000 women had breast implants last year, according
to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
SALINE OR SILICONE CONTROVERSY
The most common types of implants are saline- or silicone-filled.
But the U.S. banned silicone implants for most women in 1992 amid
controversy whether they caused chronic diseases.
In the early 1990s, many women alleged that implants filled with
silicone gel led to serious health problems.
But a 1999 U.S. Institute of Medicine study found silicone implants
did not cause cancer, lupus or other chronic disorders, although
they can rupture and present other problems.
Since 1992, silicone implants have been available in the United States
only through clinical trials.
Saline-filled implants remained on the market, but plastic surgeons
say many women prefer the look and feel of silicone.
In Malaysia, surgeons offer a choice.
EXPANDING ASIAN MARKET
In Southeast Asia, Malaysia lags behind Thailand in tapping the fast-expanding
market for cosmetic surgery.
Faridah Stephens, publisher and editor of Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty,
Malaysia's first magazine devoted to issue, said more Asians were
now willing to spend money to look better.
"There are a lot of choices out there. And getting beautiful is getting
easier and easier," she said.
One London doctor told Reuters there had been cases of Britons who
had suffered after going for cut-rate breast surgery in Spain and
in some Asian countries.
One London doctor told Reuters there had been cases of Britons who
had suffered after going for cut-rate breast surgery in Spain and
in some Asian countries.
"Many have been seduced by cheap deals," said the doctor, who declined
to be identified.
Giezenaar listed reasons for setting up shop in Penang.
"The medical facilities are great, the infrastructure is OK," she said. "And
English is widely spoken here."
But she believed Malaysia should come up with do's and don'ts to
help ensure a proper growth of medical tourism.
"The first case that goes wrong would be the end for medical tourism for
Malaysia."
Corina said she was nervous but had no regrets about coming to Penang. "The
procedure went very well...I feel its part of my body now." |
|
|
