THE PHILIPPINES may be lagging behind Thailand and Singapore in medical tourism, but it may have an ace that may allow it to beat the competition by a nose.

The Belo Medical Group is targeting the huge Filipino community abroad who may be in need of nose jobs (rhinoplasty), as it joins the government’s campaign to encourage people outside the country to avail of the Philippines’ various medical services.

Rhinoplasty is the most popular cosmetic procedure among Filipinos, especially now that the procedure has become more affordable. Technological advances have also made “new” noses look natural in Asian faces.

In fact, the Belo Medical Group has already seen, in the last few months, an increase in balikbayan and foreign clients.

Encouraging

“We have yet to see a significant influx,” says cosmetic surgeon Dr. Ed Yap, an ear, nose and throat specialist, who performs many of the required procedures, “but the gradual increase has been very encouraging.”

Belo has been able to market its “ambulatory service centers” in Makati, Greenhills, Quezon City and Alabang.

Accredited by the Department of Health, the ambulatory service centers, which are almost like full-service operating rooms, are now at par with big hospitals in terms of facilities for cosmetic surgery, says Yap.

Apart from state-of-the-art facilities, Belo also offers people in need of a nose job several advantages not found in bigger, supposedly more modern hospitals and clinics abroad, according to Yap.

Cheaper

One advantage is cost. Yap says, while the procedure can cost $2,500-$4,000 in the United States, he charges P60,000-P100,000 ($1,225-$2,050 at current exchange rates).

“It really depends on how difficult the job is, but I normally do a series of procedures to improve the person’s nose,” he explains.

Yap has also had a lot of experience doing “Asian-Malay noses.” He has done close to 4,000 noses since he went into cosmetic surgery in 1998.

He has also performed nose jobs for Caucasians and Arabs who wanted their sharp, aquiline noses “softened” and reduced.

Yap says one reason why overseas Filipinos should consider having their noses done here is that doctors abroad may not be aware of the difference in Asian and Caucasian skin.
He says Caucasians have thinner skin so are not as prone to scarring as Orientals are.

“Doctors abroad can put sutures almost anywhere on a Caucasian’s face,” says Yap. “They (sutures) normally disappear in time, but not in Asians.”

Yap adds that other doctors may also not be as thorough and as concerned as he is when dealing with the unique requirements of the Filipino nose.

“It would be so much easier to simply give in to whatever the patient wants,” he says. “But I’ve always made it a point to first analyze his/her facial structure before doing the necessary sub-procedures to come up with (what would be closest) to an ideal nose.”

Preparatory work may include cartilage trimming and repositioning, conchal (ear cartilage) grafts, septoplasty (repair of the nasal septum) and osteotomy (breaking the nasal bones).

“Some surgeons make do with silicon insertion and alarplasty,” says Yap. “The absence or lack of structural work gives the nose an unnatural or surgical look.”

Better than silicon
Apart from a weak bridge, the typical Filipino nose is a tad broad, hence the need for preliminaries. After trimming, Yap inserts an implant called Goretex which, he says, is better than silicon implant.

It has a protective covering to insulate it from the rest of the body. Silicon implant, unlike Goretex, has no small holes that allow it to meld with the body’s tissues. A Goretex implant eventually becomes part of the body.

Belo is only one of three establishments in the Philippines that use Goretex in its rhinoplasty procedures.

“Goretex manages to look natural even after several decades,” says Yap. “And since it is almost rejection-free, it’s perfect for the balikbayan, who only has a few weeks to spare before he/she leaves Manila. A typical operation takes about 90 minutes.”

It usually takes a week for the swelling around the nose area to subside, says Yap. By the third week, the patient can already start showing off his/her new and improved look.