While 90 per cent of Arabs who leave the Middle East to have cosmetic surgery performed come to Europe, more than half of them choose London for their treatments, said a leading plastic surgeon.
“London is famous for a lot of things and now you can count top notch plastic surgery among those things,” said Professor Laurence Kirwan, MD. “These women come from very wealthy backgrounds and they can afford to go anywhere in the world to have their plastic surgery done so naturally they choose the place with the best reputation.”
Kirwan was named one of Tatler magazine’s Top Surgeons in its Cosmetic Surgery Guide for the years 2004 and 2007-2012. He was also named the Top Breast and Tummy surgeon for the past two years.
The doctor has announced that he will now be consulting in Abu Dhabi once a month.
“The Arab market continues to grow as Arab and Middle Eastern women continue to become more open to the idea of plastic surgery,” Kirwan said. “It just makes sense to go to where the market is growing.”
Kirwan already has an international presence with clinics in Harley Street in London in the UK and in New York and Connecticut in the US. He has long been sought out by wealthy clients from the Arab world and expects his consultancy will be in high demand in Abu Dhabi.
Arab women, like their Western counterparts, are influenced by what they see in the media and want to feel good and look beautiful, Kirwan said.
Despite the fact that plastic surgery is outlawed in some Arab states and that many Arab women remain covered around all but their husbands and family, they still want to look the best that they possibly can, he added.
“It’s the same all over the world,” Kirwan said. “Women always want to look and feel their best and they’ll go wherever they need to go to do that.”
