The Rise of Plastic Surgery in Africa
Cosmetic surgery is a voluntary or elective surgery that is performed on normal parts of the body with the only purpose of improving a person’s appearance and/or removing signs of aging. In recent times, the practice has been on the increase in Africa.
Historically, African women are known for having naturally voluptuous bodies and are often hailed for having the desired shapes. Those who do not have such features now rush to have them enhanced.
Cosmetic procedures are available for almost any part of the body with often long-lasting effects but the choice to undergo cosmetic surgery should not be taken lightly. It is important to be sure about the decision, to consult an expert and to have the right motivation. This is because a patient may sometimes show signs of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and think there is something wrong with their appearance when actually there is none.
All surgeries have an inherent risk whether it is elective or not but a botched cosmetic or reconstructive surgery could be as a result of negligence on the part of medical staff. If cosmetic or reconstructive surgery goes wrong, it can end up leaving scars and deformities that negatively affect patients for the rest of their lives.
Types Of Cosmetic Surgery
Liposuction, butt lift and butt implant are among the most popular cosmetic procedures.
Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery procedure in which extra fat is removed from the body, in areas like the thighs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, arms, neck, or back. It is also called lipo, lipoplasty, or body contouring. It is for those who want to improve the shape or contours of their body. They may have tried natural weight reduction measures like diet and exercise but could not get rid of these fat deposits. However, liposuction is not a treatment for weight loss as it could have possible risks and complications. Liposuction is ideal for people with less excess skin, good skin elasticity, good muscle tone, fat deposits that will not go away with diet or exercise, and good physical shape and overall health. It is also good for those who are not overweight or obese and do not smoke.
A buttock lift, otherwise called a butt lift, is a cosmetic surgical procedure to improve the appearance of the buttocks. It removes excess skin and fat from the buttocks and repositions the remaining skin to create a more toned look.
Butt lift may be done as part of a tummy tuck (belt lipectomy) or lower body lift to contour the buttocks, groin, thighs and abdomen. The procedure alone may not increase the size of the buttocks but can combine with an augmentation procedure to alter the shape or size of the buttocks with implants or fat grafts. People who consider butt lift may have lost a significant amount of weight, are overweight, or have a normal weight but want an improvement in the lower part of their body.
Butt implants are artificial devices surgically placed in the buttocks to create volume in the area. It is also known as buttock or gluteal augmentation. The primary goal of butt implants is to enhance the shape of the buttocks. Ideal candidates for butt implants are those who have recently lost weight and have also lost some of the natural shape of their buttocks but feel their natural shape is too flat or squarish, those who think their buttocks could use more curves to balance out the rest of their body shape, those who want to fight natural signs of aging such as sagginess and flatness, those who do not smoke tobacco and those who lead a healthy lifestyle.
Successful Cosmetic Surgeries In Africa
Despite the dangers associated with cosmetic procedures, the practice has become a growing trend among celebrities on the continent, often with some success stories.
Gambian-born Ghanaian actress and producer Princess Shyngle who describes her hour-glass look as a work of art has had five of her ribs and her small intestines removed. She hopes to remove five more ribs and her large intestines.
Ghanaian actress and social media sensation Moesha Boduong is famous for being curvaceous. She had liposuction and some work done around her stomach to make her more curvaceous.
Popular Kenyan socialite Huddah Monroe had breast implants in 2016. During her Big Brother Africa stint, she lamented that her breasts were small and so she went for the operation to enlarge them.
Kenyan television and social media personality, celebrity and socialite Vera Sidika underwent two surgeries to boost her looks. The first was to bleach her whole body before she went for breast implants.
Nigeria’s Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh initially did not like how she looked and had plastic surgery to fix her bum. She thought it was shapeless and had a problem fitting into dresses because of her big tummy.
South African rapper Nomasonto Maswanganyi, better known with the stage name Mshoza, has had several plastic surgery procedures in a quest to look like U.S.-based female rapper Nicki Minaj. She is believed to have undergone breast augmentation, nose job, dimple chin, skin lightening and lip enhancement.
South African actress, filmmaker and producer Connie Ferguson underwent breast implants and had a rhinoplasty (nose job). She recently flaunted her abdominal muscle on the Internet.
Botched Cosmetic Surgeries In Africa
Notwithstanding the huge successes recorded in cosmetic procedures, a few of them have been largely unsuccessful. Notable among them is that of Nigeria’s former First Lady Stella Obasanjo who died while undergoing cosmetic surgery in Spain.
Ghanaian celebrity and former Ghana representative of Big Brother Africa Confidence Haugen has had a failed plastic surgery while trying to look pretty. She had said she was unhappy with her sagging chests and wanted something done about them but the operation cost her natural beauty.
As many as 300 South African women were affected after plastic surgeons performed their breast augmentations using defective silicone breast implants Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) supplied by a French company. The implants leaked and were found to contain industrial-grade mattress silicone, a potential carcinogen, according to a report.
Given the rising cases of failed cosmetic surgeries on the African continent, the CEO of Ghanaian-based wellness firm Premier Aesthetic Clinic Jahara Osman says people should not be ashamed of enhancing their bodies.
According to Jahara, cosmetic surgery is safe but the problem people often have is where to go to get the procedures done right. “People do not have any idea where they can get things done without anyone noticing or having it done well.” Instead, they search for solutions online and “end up with bad doctors or underground doctors who do not do it well.”
Jahara therefore advises those who want to have cosmetic surgery to go look for professionals to mitigate the effects of a failed procedure.
