Tummy tucks and cosmetic surgery on the rise in Oman

Muscat: Tummy tucks and cosmetic surgery were among the main reasons for going under the knife in 2015, according to the Ministry of Health data.
Surgeons across the Sultanate performed 102,965 surgeries, of which 56,601 were minor and 46,364 were major surgeries in hospitals and health centres, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The total number of surgeries in 2014 was 94,830.
According to the Annual Health Report 2015 issued by the MoH, “other” operations, including tissue disruption, plastic surgery (cosmetic) and “other surgical procedures not otherwise specified” were the ones that involved the most surgeries, with 23,844 operations. The corresponding figure for 2014 was a little higher at 24,051.
That was followed by male and female genital organ cosmetic surgery.
Dr. Rohil, director of the Lifeline Hospital, said people mainly come to the hospital looking to reduce weight, which prompts surgeons to tuck the skin after.
“There has been an increase in the number of people looking to lose weight. When they lose the fat, they will have loose skin, which will need tucking,” said Dr. Rohil.
“As for government hospitals, cosmetics is mostly for burns and cancer, where skin grafting is needed,” he added, explaining that plastic surgery in the government hospitals is more likely to treat deformities rather than aim for beautification. He added that the current era boasts more of a cosmetic environment, where people have the “notion of having a perfect figure.”
According to MoH, the Royal Hospital performed the majority of surgeries in the governorate at 9,226, followed by the Khoula Hospital with 9,112. The Al Rustaq Hospital performed 8,281 surgeries making it the third highest, while the Al Nahda Hospital registered 7,660 surgeries.
Data also showed that 39.6 per cent of major operations were performed in Muscat, followed by 12.3 per cent in Ad Dakhiliyah, and Dhofar hosting 10.8 per cent.
However, the Ad Dakhiliyah Governorate recorded the highest number of minor surgeries performed, recording 19.5 per cent of the total followed by North Ash Sharqiyah at 15.5 per cent and North Al Batinah with 15.4 per cent. Muscat recorded 14.8 per cent of the minor operations.
As of the end of 2015, according to ministry data, the Sultanate had 49 hospitals affiliated to MoH and a total of 4,998 hospital beds.
Some 8,914 doctors are registered with MoH, of which 3,116 are specialists, while the remaining 678 are consultants and nurses, which took the total to 19,331 at the end of 2015.