An increase in demand for cosmetic surgery has been felt in recent years, two plastic surgeons have told The Times.
However, this is nothing close to the demand in some other countries. Plastic surgeon Francis X. Darmanin said that in Italy around 15 per cent of the population have cosmetic surgery while in Malta it is lower than one per cent.
Plastic surgeon Joe Briffa said the media were partly responsible for the increase in requests for cosmetic surgery.
"People are arriving at a certain age and while they still feel agile, they do not feel that they look good enough and want to enhance their looks to feel better," he said.
Nose jobs and breast implants were described by both surgeons as being the most common types of cosmetic surgery, although requests for face lifts, tummy tucks and liposuctions are also made.
Mr Darmanin said there has been a drop in requests for liposuctions on last year, adding that this might be because people were eating healthier food and getting into shape without having to resort to surgery.
Mr Briffa said there was a tendency for people who want liposuction to leave it to the last minute. "There is an increase in people looking for liposuction around spring because they want to lose the extra fat for summer," he said.
However, after the surgery the patient has to wear a corset-like garment for around six weeks, which is uncomfortable in warm weather. People needed to realise that the end results were not obvious immediately but took some time.
Although cosmetic surgery was much cheaper in Malta than in the United Kingdom both Mr Darmanin and Mr Briffa said a number of people still opted to go to the UK to have it.
The two surgeons said cosmetic surgery in Malta cost around 25 to 30 per cent of what it does in the UK. Mr Briffa said some people still went abroad because they believed there would be more privacy and fewer people would know that they had resorted to it. "They might have also had cosmetic surgery before and know the doctor," he said.
Mr Briffa said most people did not want to admit they underwent cosmetic surgery and some did not even want to tell close family members.
"It is amazing what pretexts they come up with. Sometimes they lock themselves at home," he said, adding that although people wanted to look good, and wanted others to notice it, they did not necessarily want others to know they had had surgery.
And although in the UK and the US Botox and injectible fillers had become quite popular, Mr Darmanin did not believe the same was the case with Malta. He said that although abroad Botox and fillers become a way of life for people, the Maltese did not like procedures that needed to be repeated.
"They want something that lasts, that is more permanent, and do not want to go back for repetitive procedures," he said. Mr Darmanin said that Botox costs less than a packet of cigarettes a day for every year that a person gets the treatment.
Meanwhile, Mr Briffa said that although there is a demand for Botox in Malta it had not taken off in the same way as it had in other countries.
"In the UK one can even go into Boots and get it done during a lunch break. But it is better to see someone with medical training since, like in any other procedure, there are a number of risks, although these are temporary since the effect is not permanent," he said.
Mr Briffa said that in any procedure there was a potential for complications, which underlined the importance for professional people to carry out these surgeries since they would have the experience to deal with any problems arising.
Mr Darmanin reiterated that the risks were many, as in any other operation. "First of all you have a scar and bruising and there might be swelling, bleeding and infection as well as particular complications that are specific to certain operations." He added that if a person smoked or drank this might complicate matters further because the healing process was slowed down.
Asked whether people usually know what intervention they wanted both plastic surgeons said that the end results needed to be discussed during the visits. Mr Briffa said it was imperative to know what a patient wanted to achieve.
"Sometimes you see a person who says she wants a certain type of intervention, when that is not the answer to the problem. It is imperative to discuss what is needed to achieve the desired result," he said.
Mr Darmanin said the first time a surgeon saw a patient, he would get an indication of what they wanted.
"They are usually told what they need by their friends and sometimes they get the wrong idea of what could be done. During the consultation we determine what the best solution is," he explained.
Mr Darmanin said it was imperative that a patient understood exactly what they were getting themselves into and what results they could expect. The surgeon said a study in the US showed that 60 per cent of what was told to a patient was never fully understood.
"They miss out on important information. I prefer if they come with somebody else or they return after looking through the internet or reading books and I can then answer any questions they might have," he said.