The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital has set up a cosmetic surgery clinic.
It will function for one hour from Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. So far, 50 persons have undergone procedures to correct noses and for liposuction, at the hospital.
A dedicated clinic is necessary now that more people suffer from damaged facial features following accidents, said dean V. Kanagasabai.
“In a corporate hospital, a patient may have to spend anywhere from several thousands to lakhs, but at the GH, these surgeries are done free of cost,” Dr. Kanagasabai said.
The equipment for the surgeries, costing Rs. 10 lakh was purchased from the money the hospital received through the CM’s insurance scheme.
The hospital is also aiming to address the issue of obesity through liposuction.
Common cosmetic surgeries are liposuction, removal of fat from thighs and arms, nose corrections and hair transplants.
While these are not covered under the Chief Minister’s health insurance scheme, some procedures such as correcting a deviated nose, a damaged jaw or reconstructing a birth defect in the jaw bone may be covered under the scheme, said R. Gopinath, head of the clinic, who has 15 years of experience in the field.
“We have never had cosmetic surgery as a specialised treatment. Some days ago, we operated on a boy with a deviated nose following an injury. This is covered under the insurance scheme,” the surgeon said. The hospital has also operated on persons with deformed jaws and also those with gummy smiles.
Over the past six months, three persons have undergone liposuction (tummy tuck), some patients have required nose corrections and some boys have been operated on for breast enlargement, because of a condition called gynaecomastia.
“In liposuction sometimes we remove as much as five to six kg of fat,” Dr. Gopinath said. Health minister V.S. Vijay inaugurated the clinic last Friday.
