topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.44 0.28
DAX 6339.94 0.38
IBEX 30 6543 0.13
CAC 40 3047.94 0.32
FTSE 100 5351.53 0.03
AEX 292.76 0.23
DJIA 12454.83 -0.60
Nasdaq 2837.53 -0.07
FTSE MIB 13154.8 0.36
TSX Composite 11576.47 0.09
ASX 4081.2 -0.61
Hang seng 18713.41 0.25
Straits Times 2772.75 -0.24
ISEQ 20 500.94 1.55
You are here: Home News Spanish News Immigrants undergo plastic surgery to look Western

Spanish News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


12/08/2008Immigrants undergo plastic surgery to look Western

Immigrants undergo plastic surgery to look Western An increasingly amount of immigrants in Spain are opting for nose surgery to look more European and adapt to new environment.

Related Articles

12 August 2008

VALENCIA - Orly Cuzco, 28, did not care much for his nose. "The Inca look really set me apart." So this Ecuadorian from Guayaquil, who lives in Madrid, invested his savings of EUR 4,200 in a nose job so he would "look less conspicuous" on the street.

Now he is pleased with the result.

"It's just right," says Cuzco, who adds a hesitant reference to a deviated nasal septum as another reason for the operation, which took place four months ago.

Among facial features, nose shape is one of the most indicative of a person's ethnic origin.

This is why rhinoplasty has become the star operation among immigrants, especially those from South America, who in ever-greater numbers are resorting to plastic surgery to look more European.

There are cases, such as Orly's, where the main idea is to reduce the nasal arch, though more often than not the desire is for greater volume and narrower nostrils.

"Many clients come with the excuse of a deviated septum, when what they really want is to reshape flat, snub noses and soften the features that identify their nationality," says Diego Tomas, the surgeon who operated on Orly.

He handles some 30 similar cases every year, a little less than 10 percent of his practice.

"There has been a big rise in this type of patient in recent years," he adds.

Westernised nose
The Spanish Plastic Surgery Association (Secpre) is aware of the phenomenon, which it addressed in its meeting in July in Zaragoza.

Its president, Antonio Porcuna, also speaks of a rise in numbers of clients looking for "a more Westernised nose." "It's a way of adapting to the environment in which they live," says Salvador Rodríguez-Camps, a surgeon in Valencia who handles around 30 such cases a year.

The nose job, though the most popular, is not the only operation. Rodríguez-Camps recalls operating on Central American women with very rounded faces, in whom he implanted a prosthesis on the chin to lengthen the face. He has operated, too, on people of Oriental origin who want a European eye shape.

This last procedure calls for blefaroplasty, or eyelid surgery, to make the eye more rounded. "This is a relatively uncomplicated operation, done with local anaesthesia," he notes.

It is not very common in Spain, but is seen in countries with large numbers of Asians, such as Australia and the United States, says Porcuna. Indeed, these operations have become a specialty of plastic surgery, many practices being wholly devoted to them.

In Spain, the number of immigrants who resort to plastic surgery is hard to estimate, especially since many opt for operations at far lower prices in their home countries.

But not just anything goes.

For most surgeons there is a clear barrier, not to be crossed, in terms of good taste and proportion of features. "Corrections have to remain within a certain ethnic fidelity," says Juan Antonio Mira, a surgeon in Valencia.

"You can't put an obviously German nose on a Latin American woman, for example."

[El Pais / Jaime Prats / Expatica]


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating



0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Technology in Spain

Sat phones/internet links

English in Spain

What is the best travel insurance cover to Spain?

American in Spain

U.S. citizens, plan to vote in 2012? Did you know...

Relocation to Spain

thinking of moving to madrid

Jobs in Spain

Job Agencies or how to find work.

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Editor's Guide: Getting Started in Spain

Editor's Guide: Getting Started in Spain

Expatica's Getting Started section will provide practical information on how you can open a bank account, exchange your driving licence, improve your Spanish, and more.

Groups and Clubs in Madrid

Groups and Clubs in Madrid

Here's a guide to an extensive list of groups and clubs in Madrid for expats, from sports groups to social and family gatherings.

Groups and Clubs around Spain

Groups and Clubs around Spain

A brief introduction to our Tax section for Spain, from help with inheritance tax to accounting advice.

Groups and Clubs in Barcelona

Groups and Clubs in Barcelona

Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in Spain, from what to ask the experts to opening a Spanish bank account.