This Article is From Dec 14, 2010

Cosmetic surgery among elderly on the rise in Mumbai

Mumbai: A 55-year-old businessman underwent cosmetic surgery at Breach Candy Hospital last week. While there is nothing unusual in the above statement, what makes the case interesting is that the man went under the knife on the insistence of his 24-year-old son. He wanted his father to look young and re-marry.

This is not an isolated case. If the city cosmetic surgeons are to be believed, the newest trend is youngsters coaxing their parents to come for cosmetic surgeries to improve their quality of life.

"After his mother's death a year back, he wanted his father to re-marry. Before starting the bride search, he wanted his father to look young. Hailing from a rich family in Uttar Pradesh, they approached me last month for the cosmetic surgery," said Dr Mohan Thomas, senior cosmetic surgeon at Breach Candy Hospital. The duo has returned to their hometown after a successful surgery.

"Older people do not know about the availability of world class procedures in India and their affordability. We have seen sons and daughters bringing their parents for discussion about the improvements possible so that they come up in their careers and sometimes also before a remarriage. These youngsters also have great knowledge about their own requirements and usually undergo procedures to improve their own self-esteem," said Dr Thomas.

The usual requirements for parents is abdominal shaping as the mothers have gone through pregnancy and fathers need to lose weight because of associated medical problems. If parents plan a new innings then they need facial rejuvenation surgery.

"We saw a 57-year-old woman with her 32-year-old daughter who had come for discussion regarding contouring of their abdomen. The mother worked with a domestic airline carrier while the daughter worked as a cabin crew member with one of the international airlines. The mother had gone through two pregnancies. There were massive fat deposits in the abdomen and sides causing a bulging midriff along with looseness of the muscle wall and hernia in the abdomen. The daughter too had a child through c-section. She had fat bulges and a paunch. We discussed about liposuction and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) for both of them and it was decided that they would do the surgeries at intervals as somebody was needed to take care of the child," said Dr Thomas.

According to the doctor, in last one month there have been four mother-daughter duos and two father-son duos coming in for cosmetic surgeries. "It is heartening to see a rising number of older people coming for cosmetic surgery because of their children," added Dr Thomas.

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