With the economic crisis in Lebanon entering its fourth year, many plastic surgeons began to notice a significant increase in deformities, skin diseases and complications, as a result of the use of “cheap and poor” materials in plastic surgery.
Plastic surgeons around the world are calling for intensifying control over cosmetic centers and clinics, and focusing on the quality and quality of the materials used in surgeries, in line with the difficult financial conditions that drive some to search for lower-priced operations, regardless of the quality of the materials used in them.
The economic crisis in Lebanon prompted many cosmetic clinics to use low-quality materials at the lowest cost, which contributed to the spread of many cases of skin deformities leading to viral infections.
Despite the suffocating crisis that engulfs the country, the Lebanese woman’s interest in her beauty is still considered a priority, especially for families who are somewhat financially able, while, according to plastic surgeons, many are exposed to risks that they are indispensable.
The phenomenon of modern cosmetic injections, such as “Botox”, “fillers”, “mesotherapy” and others, has become the fastest and best option for women, to escape the obsession with aging that haunts women in parallel with the economic crisis.
What do the experts say?
Head of the Department of Facial and Eye Plastic Surgery at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Ramzi Alameddine, said that Lebanon is witnessing a remarkable increase in the spread of the “cheapest and worst” materials used in plastic surgery.
Alamuddin added to Sky News Arabia:
• Since the beginning of the crisis in Lebanon, there have been efforts to keep up with high aesthetic standards, which forced some to use types of cosmetics of low cost and quality as well, and led to deformities and serious health complications.
• Lebanese women use high-quality products such as botulinum toxin (Botox) and facial fillers (hyaluronic acid), despite the difficult conditions, but caution is required in choosing these materials.
• On the other hand, doctors have recently noticed an increase in the rate of complications resulting from the use of cheap and widespread cosmetic products.
• Many women and even young people have fallen victim to the poor quality of these products, not realizing the great risks involved.
• These substances caused harm and bad health complications, and some of them became chronic.
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Alameddine said, “Possible complications due to the use of (Botox) and cheap fillers, including bacterial infections and the appearance of scars, leading to deformity.”
He added, “Such cheap and counterfeit products are often manufactured in irregular facilities, and may contain impurities and dangerous materials that lead to infections and serious complications, as well as cause reactions in the immune system that may require long-term treatments, and sometimes reconstructive surgery.”
Alamuddin stressed the need to review the specialists, and to give priority to safety at the expense of cost in the event of plastic surgery or the addition of facial fillings.
The plastic surgeon pointed out to the remarkably high rate of complications in Lebanon, especially after the exacerbation of the economic crisis, because “people are no longer able to pay the costs.”
Alameddine warned against the use of “Botox” of unknown origin and does not conform to international standards, as it “contains some impurities that cause hypersensitivity and reaction in some, and swelling of the face that often requires doses of cortisone to treat it.”
He continued, “The same applies to the filler material, which we also began to notice in some cases gathering in the face,” stressing the need to “use high-quality products and monitor them from the concerned health organizations.”
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