22 February,2010 10:26 AM IST | | Alifiya Khan
That's what city's cosmetic surgeons have started telling regulars whose obsession with going under the knife has gotten out of hand
It's not her real name, but let's call her Nisha Mahiwal. The city's nip-and-tuck doctors call her a freak.
Tired of her constant visits to their clinics over the past few years for innumerable cosmetic surgeries, these doctors have now asked Mahiwal to consult a psychiatrist.
"She just isn't satisfied with her body image. She has had at least seven facelifts, chin implants, nose jobs, liposuction and other procedures. No one touches her case now; she is suffering from low self-esteem and a psychiatric illness. Nothing is wrong with her body," said Dr Sumit Saxena, cosmetic surgeon at Jehangir Hospital.
It's spreading
Doctors in the city say Mahiwal's is not an isolated case. They claim they are increasingly getting clients who need to be on a shrink's couch rather than under a surgeon's knife.
"We have started getting a lot of clients who suffer from an illness called body dysmorphic disorder. Such people are obsessed about faults in their looks and are never satisfied. They want to do one surgery after another and as its popularity has increased, the number of such cases has also risen," said Dr Ashish Davalbhakta, cosmetic surgeon at Ruby Hall Clinic. At his personal clinic MediSpa, he has recently employed a counsellor for such cases, as he says at least one in 15 patients requires counselling.
Couch, not knife
Dr Parag Sahastrabuddhe, head of cosmetic surgery at Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital, says he refers at least 5 per cent of his clients for serious psychiatric counselling.
"I have had clients who have done more than seven-eight surgeries at various clinics," said Sahastrabuddhe.
"They do one procedure, aren't satisfied, go to another doctor and get something else done, or get it corrected. Sometimes people are actually good looking, but still not happy. In such cases, we now refuse to operate on them and ask them to see a psychiatrist."
Dr Shrihari Dhorepatil, head of the bariatric department at Jehangir Hospital says it is imperative that such cases get referredu00a0 to psychiatrists more often.
"Actually, the number of people who get referred for counselling is quite low compared to the number in need of it," said Dhorepatil.
"Most doctors operate as they fear losing a client. But, in cases where a person has undergone more than one procedure, he should always be psychologically assessed to see if his need for surgery is real or just his
obsessiveness."
