With advances in medicine, it has become easier than ever to get under the knife, and KSA people have taken note. In 2015, Saudi people spent 826 million riyals on plastic surgery.
About 50 percent of the GCC people who got plastic surgery in 2015 were from KSA. Globally, the country is ranked as number 29 on a list of countries with the most plastic surgeons.
For women, liposuction is currently the most appealing cosmetic surgery. A study by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital in UAE revealed that 46 percent of cosmetic surgeries in 2016 were liposuction.
Though many women wanted to shed some weight, they also wanted to add some more to other areas. Breast augmentation was the second most popular surgical procedure, with 18 percent of patients going in to increase their breast size.
Abdominoplasty, commonly known as a tummy tuck, had 15 percent of women patients waiting in the doctor’s office, while cosmetic gynecology brought in 11 percent and nose jobs brought 10 percent.
Because Islamic law is often against cosmetic surgeries, many Muslim women choose less invasive procedures. The most popular non-surgical procedure, which has topped the list for years, is botox injections. Another procedure that has gained popularity is body contouring, which tightens the body by removing excess skin and fat without surgery.
But women aren’t the only ones getting cosmetic surgery – men get a little nip and tuck, too. Men mostly got surgery to define their muscles, getting lipsuction and pectoral implants.
Riyadh was a more popular destination for plastic surgery in 2015, with 8,504 surgeries compared to Jeddah’s 3,384, according to statistics by the Ministry of Health. But Saudi people didn’t let country borders stop them – many traveled to get surgery abroad, and GCC medical centres note that KSA people help power the medical tourism industry.
