Divorce, Bans, and Cosmetic Surgery in China

You may have never heard of Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, also known as Canton, on the Pearl River, and about an hour by train from Hong Kong, but you may have heard the scuttlebutt about a Chinese man who divorced his wife and sued her for having an ugly baby. The man who sued was Jian Feng from northern China. Taken out of context, this report is shocking to Americans. Cosmetic surgery in China has become practically a necessity to many people, including graduating students looking for jobs according to The Huffington Post’s video.

Guangzhou may become the first city in China to make it illegal for children under 18 to receive non?essential surgical procedures without parental permission. In the United States we take it for granted that a minor cannot legally consent to surgery without his or her parents’ approval, but not so in other parts of the world. Makes you wonder just how young the divorced and sued wife was when she had cosmetic surgery. Doctors report that having cosmetic surgery in China is considered as fashionable and common as getting a new handbag. This makes me think good old Jian might have known.

Upwardly mobile Chinese from Beijing to Guangzhou to Hong Kong are getting cosmetic surgery. And young too. Many middle class Chinese teens receive cosmetic surgery as graduation gifts from their parents, sometimes for middle school. Since 2009 the trend in elective procedures had risen to about 2 million annually putting China in third place behind the United States and Brazil on the global scale of top consumers of cosmetic surgery.

The top procedure is eyelid surgery. The popular “double eyelid” surgery involves adding a crease in the upper eyelid to make eyes appear larger. The second most popular cosmetic procedure is rhinoplasty, in this case to make the nose more prominent. After eyes and nose, the third most popular operation  is jaw surgery to make the jaw longer and narrower.

Many procedures take place in “beauty clinics” where they cost less. Now that Guangzhou is attempting to ban cosmetic surgery for teens, there seems to be a rush on these facilities that may not check identification. Put that together with  immaturity of emotions and facial structure and you have recipe for disaster. Going to a hospital, in China, for a procedure may not be much better. The Ministry of Health found that less than half the hospitals that offered cosmetic procedures met the national standards, when they were inspected in Beijing.

Unlike in China, cosmetic surgery at Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center is not performed on teens without parental consent. I will generally only perform cosmetic surgery on the ears and the nose for a teenager under the age of 18, and only after a thorough consultation with the teen and his or her parents. I am happy to announce that Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center’s operating room facility has been reviewed by AAAHC, meeting Little Rock, Arkansas’ high standards.

Call Melinda to set up an appointment with me at 501-227-0707