State-of-the-art hospital equipment, skilled surgeons, and economical prices mean more cosmetic surgery clinics are jammed in the run up to Vietnam’s Tet lunar New Year. The most sought-after procedures, performed in State hospitals as well as private clinics, are eyelid operations, nose jobs, breast implants, and general nips and tucks.
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Van, director of Thanh Van Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in District 1, who has more than 22 years’ experience in the field, said the number of clients at his clinic increased by up to 40 percent in the days after Christmas.
Van remarked more and more overseas Vietnamese known as “Viet kieu” are returning to their homeland to seek cosmetic surgery procedures, as prices are more reasonable.
‘The number of Viet kieu at Thanh Van usually increases by up to 70 percent in the run up to Tet,’ said Van.
Nguyen Cuu Bao Hung, director of Asia Cosmetic Surgery Center in District 10, revealed his Viet kieu clients had rocketed by 200 percent before Tet.
‘Many Viet kieu have recently returned to Vietnam for plastic surgery only,’ he said.
The ancient Egyptians and Romans also performed plastic cosmetic surgery. The Romans were able to perform simple techniques, such as repairing damaged ears from around the 1st century BC. For religious reasons, they did not dissect either human beings or animals, thus their knowledge was based in its entirety on the texts of their Greek predecessors. Notwithstanding, Aulus Cornelius Celsus left some surprisingly accurate anatomical descriptions.