|
by Philip Preville When the Canadian dollar first dropped to 65 cents U.S. last summer, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told the media it would be "good for tourism." He neglected to mention, however, that it would also be good for what might be called "aesthetic surgery tourism."
Swift himself sees few American patients at the moment, but, he says, "I'm looking into advertising south of the border right now. I would be foolhardy not to." In the meantime, Swift has listed his name on the Plastic Surgery Canada Web site (www.plasticsurgerycanada.com), set up by the Canadian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (CSAPS), which caters specifically to Americans seeking more breast for their buck. In addition to listing the names of plastic surgeons in all major Canadian cities, Plastic Surgery Canada also features everything the American patient-tourist needs to know: price comparisons for different aesthetic surgery procedures, recommended hotels, tips on how to get discount air fares and a currency converter. But the boom in American patients, for plastic surgeons in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada, is merely an added bonus to their already expanding business. No one in Canada keeps detailed statistics on the number of aesthetic surgery procedures performed in Canada, but CSAPS, the Quebec Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Specialists and all the individual plastic surgeons contacted by the Mirror concur that business is on the rise. Breast implants make a comeback According to CSAPS, Canadian trends in aesthetic surgery are similar to those south of the border, where detailed statistics are tallied each year. Such being the case, in the last five years, liposuction has become the most popular procedure: the number of liposuctions has increased by 215 per cent, and there are now more men than women undergoing the surgery.
And Montreal is a highly competitive market for aesthetic surgery, with approximately 100 plastic surgeons in the Montreal area, compared to 55 only 10 years ago. It's common knowledge among plastic surgeons that there should be one of them for every 50,000 people in any given city; in Montreal, the ratio currently stands at approximately one plastic surgeon for every 25,000 people. "It's a whole different kettle of fish from when I started in 1986," says Swift. "There's more and more demand for aesthetic procedures paid for by patients. No one wants to be stuck doing only the reconstructive work covered by Medicare. The business aspect of our work is becoming more and more important." Swift is the first to admit he hasn't kept up with the latest business trends--he still runs an old-style practice, with himself, his secretary and a nurse. Aesthetic services, American-style In south-shore Longueil, by comparison, Dr. Pierre Courchesne has established an American style, fully integrated personal aesthetics clinic. In addition to the gamut of standard surgical procedures, Courchesne's Centre de Médecine & Chirurgie Esthétique de la Rive-Sud offers a variety of specialized skin-care and beauty products, as well as numerous, less invasive procedures: hair grafts and hair removal, skin pigmentation treatments and anti-snoring treatments, to name a few.
Interestingly, Courchesne himself is not a trained plastic surgeon. He's a general surgeon with specialized training in various, less invasive laser procedures, which do not require plastic-surgeon certification. For around $1,200, Courchesne will permanently shave a woman's bikini line using high-tech laser equipment. He can also remove an unwanted tattoo, which requires between three to six laser treatments at $350 per treatment. Courchesne's clinic also offers the latest alternative to a facelift: SoftForm™ facial implants, small tubes made of Gore-Tex that are inserted underneath the skin to smooth out facial wrinkles. "These tubes have been used for years in cardiac surgery," Courchesne explains. "It's taken this long to discover a new use for them." The removal of smile lines with facial implants costs around $1,500, compared to a full facelift for $4,000. Getting ahead with advertising
Advertising has become a hot topic in plastic surgery circles. For one, it's growing as fast as the business, if not faster. Many of Courchesne's colleagues advertise on radio, and a number of Montreal plastic surgeons now air half-hour infomercials on French-language television. For another, the Quebec College of Physicians has taken a keen interest in plastic surgeons' advertising practices. After hearing numerous stories about false advertising (including one about a surgeon who had models pose as patients in his infomercial), Courchesne approached the College of his own accord to find out exactly what he is and is not allowed to do. "Basically, all advertising must be purely informative," he says. "I can't use before-and-after photos, and I can't use testimonials. I've had to change some of my pamphlets as a result." Why bother with mass-market advertising for something as superfluous and expensive as plastic surgery? Despite the widespread image of aesthetic surgery as a luxury afforded only to wealthy celebrities, Courchesne says his clients span the socioeconomic spectrum: "I have lots of secretaries, administrators, all kinds of people who come to my clinic. It's not just for the rich anymore. People save their money and give themselves a gift."
|
Consider, for example, that breast augmentation surgery can cost up to $12,000 U.S. in New York City, but is easily available in Montreal for around $4,500 Canadian--or a mere $3,000 in American greenbacks. "For the cost of surgery in New York, someone can fly their entire family to Montreal and stay for two weeks," says Dr. Arthur Swift, a Westmount-based aesthetic surgeon. "They can have their surgery done, recover and take a holiday while they're at it."
However, breast augmentations are making a comeback, thanks to the fading memory of the silicone implant fiasco and the development of the saline implant. In the last five years, the number of breast augmentations has increased by 275 per cent, and now ranks second in popularity. The third most popular procedure is bletharoplasty, or the eyelid lift; like liposuction, eyelid surgery is more popular among men than women.
And all these services are offered in an atmosphere that looks nothing like a standard medical clinic. "This is the way aesthetic medical services should be offered," Courchesne told the Mirror. Instead of whitewashed walls and the smell of bleach, Courchesne's clinic is a palace of ersatz luxury: pastel colours for the walls and draperies, leather chairs, dried flowers and a porcelain dog at reception, wall-mounted electric candelabras and build-it-yourself antique furniture from the Bombay Company in the hallways. Even the two hospital beds in Courchesne's recovery room have floral-print bed linen.
Unlike Swift, Courchesne spends a lot of money (though he would not say how much) on advertising and promotion. When Courchesne invited the media to his clinic last May to showcase his state-of-the-art laser equipment, he arranged a celebrity-style appearance by Céline Dion's mother. He advertises mostly in local French-language magazines such as Santé and Capital Santé, where he regularly places full-page ads.