Lebanon has become in recent years the true capital of plastic surgery among the Arab states of the Middle East. Clients are drawn here by the high level of competence of the surgeons, the relatively low prices, and the mild Mediterranean climate.

According to Tony Nasara, owner of the “Brazil Aesthetic Clinic” located in Beirut, “the boom in plastic surgery began in Lebanon in the year 2000” (after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon). He says that during these seven years that they have spent tours in Lebanon “for the purpose of plastic surgery” it appeared on sale in all Arab states.

The decline was recorded twice: after the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005 and during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. But today, according to the owners of Beirut’s cosmetic surgery clinics, Lebanon can once again be called “The Mecca of Plastic Surgery”.

Despite the fact that in many Muslim Middle Eastern countries the faces of married women are hidden from outsiders, the wives of well-to-do Arab businessmen pay great attention to their appearance. To some extent this is explained by the fact that they are not working and those whose husbands can afford to hire servants are not busy with housework. These ladies want to have “Angelina Jolie’s lips or Haifa Wehbe’s breasts.” Plastic surgeons often have to correct their Persian Gulf clients’ hawk noses or remove double chins.

According to the “Hazime” plastic surgery center, with approximately 50 doctors on its medical staff, 60% of its clients are Lebanese and 40% come from other Arab states. It is worth mentioning that in some Arab states plastic surgery is prohibited.

Although there are no official statistics, the French agency reports that approximately 1.5 million plastic surgery operations and 10 million skin lifting and hair removal procedures are performed in Lebanon each year. As for prices, “making a snub nose out of a hook” will set you back roughly $2,000 in Lebanon. A similar operation in London costs $5,000. In New York prices go up to $10,000.

Surgeons in Lebanon say that on the eve of the beach season, the demand for breast augmentation operations increases sharply. Rich Arab women go to faraway resorts and want to “keep in line.”

Plastic surgery services are also extremely popular among the young daughters of wealthy Muslims. They conform to international beauty standards before their wedding. Therefore, there are many 17-year-old girls among the clients of clinics in Lebanon. Apart from correcting the shape of their sinuses and nose, this category of clients wants to get rid of unwanted body hair. A mustache and hairy legs do not adorn even the brides of the Persian Gulf.