Doctor Xia Yang from Beijing Shijitan Hospital has undertaken cosmetic surgery for almost 15 years and says the "nip and tuck trend" began about a decade ago. Xia said cosmetic surgery could be performed on all areas of the head, neck and body to enhance the physical appeal of these areas.

Chinese women particularly favor facial surgery and liposuction. A Chinese standard for beauty is usually defined as double eyelid, oval face, long and slender eyebrows and slim waist. Many patients, however, are making reckless decisions without weighing up the consequences of their actions, according to Xia.

Many females decide to undergo surgery simply because others had done it and looked good. There was little regard for whether it was actually needed or not. "Cosmetic surgery has a highly individualized nature. Double eyelid and a long nose may look good on one person but strange on another," said Xia.

Once a girl asked Xia for double eyelid surgery but he refused. She had an oval face which Xia believed didn't quite match the double eyelid look. Two months later the girl came to Xia in tears and asked him to turn her double eyelids, created somewhere else, back to the single ones. She hated the new look. However, such an operation was beyond his capability as a cosmetic surgeon.

Xia often refuses to operate in certain circumstances. He doesn't operate on patients, such as the above-mentioned female, who blindly follow others without considering their own unique features.

The second problem is patients who have a desire to resemble their idols. Another group are those experiencing setbacks in their love lives who try cosmetic surgery in the hope of changing their lovers' minds.

Any operation involves risks no matter how minor the procedure and cosmetic surgery is no exception, said doctor Xia. For the majority of these operations patients require to be "knocked out" and allergic reactions can occur. Paralysis of facial muscles can also happen at less reputable cosmetic surgery centers.

In fact cosmetic surgery rarely meets the expectations of the patients, according to doctor Xia. "They often ask us why it couldn't be better," he said.

(China Daily January 11, 2007)