Plastic surgery needed in Yemen [Archives:2006/928/Health]
By: Amel Al-Ariqi
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“My life will never return.” Those were the only words Hanan said before she left, refusing to say more or allow a photo and leaving me with her mother, who recounted her daughter's story.
Hanan, 29, was in a car accident three years ago. She miraculously survived, undergoing numerous surgeries that left many scars on her body. “She had the accident two weeks after her graduation party. She planned to be a teacher. However, after the accident, she refused to deal with people, avoiding any comments or questions that reflected pity or curiosity,” her mother said.
Hanan's condition worsened after her fiance abandoned her. “She believed her fiance abandoned her because of her disfigurement.”
Hanan cannot face people with her physical disfigurement. Other people with other types of disfigurement have the courage to continue their lives normally; however, they cannot deny that such physical disfigurement changes their lives in some way.
Heba, a 16-year-old high school student, was burned as a child. The accident left a mark on her left cheek and left hand. “I try to ignore the way people look at me because I know the first thing they see is this mark,” she said, pointing to her face. For this reason, she prefers to wear a veil to hide her face. “I rarely take off this veil, even if I am with my classmates,” she added.
Hanan and Heba are two of many Yemenis suffering physical disfigurement. Unfortunately, there are no available statistics exposing the actual number of Yemenis affected by physical disfigurements. However, Dr. Saleh Al-Aidhani, deputy director of Al-Jumhury Hospital's burn and disfigurement treatment center, confirmed such information, saying many Yemenis suffer physical deformities due to automobile accidents, birth defects and burn accidents, as well as cancer patients who have undergone face and neck treatments and also may need plastic surgery.
Al-Aidhani referred to plastic surgery's primary objectives which are correcting defects, restoring lost functions and improving appearance. He also confirmed that this branch of surgery is not taught in any Yemeni medical university. “Very few doctors in Yemen have traveled abroad to study this field. However, they wouldn't be able to transmit their knowledge or experience to others because there is no department to teach such specialization,” he added.
The Ministry of Health continues inviting plastic surgery experts from different countries in an attempt to meet growing demand from patients seeking a cure and a new life without disfigurement. The last such medical delegation involved German plastic surgeons who launched a campaign in Dhamar governorate wherein they performed approximately 250 plastic surgeries in only 10 days. The surgeries were described as “successful operations for serious cases.”
Finding a plastic surgeon is considered a hard task in Yemen. In this regard,
Adel Al-Khawlani recounted the story of one of his relatives who accidentally broke her nose. “We looked for plastic surgeon to fix her nose and we finally found one in a private clinic. The doctor agreed to perform the surgery; however, he had to find a hospital to use its operating room. Fortunately, he found one and did the job perfectly,” he said.
Plastic surgery a controversial issue
Today's plastic surgery often is done for cosmetic reasons to remove blemishes or change contours. Among the most common cosmetic plastic surgery operations are remodeling the nose, reshaping the outer ear, removing excess skin and fatty tissue from eyelids and the eye area and face lifts to remove signs of aging. Such operations have become very common in Arab countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
However in Yemen, cosmetic plastic surgery is considered controversial. Religious men forbid such surgery, saying that any action to change what God created is banned. Other religious men tend to say there is no problem fixing deformities resulting from birth defects or removing conspicuous scars by cutting out scar tissue and adjusting a wound's shape.
Nowadays, Yemen needs plastic surgery not for cosmetic reasons but for reconstructive reasons, according to Al-Aidhani, explaining that reconstructive surgery restores function to damaged body parts and rebuilds normal physical contours when body parts like the nose, jaw, ears or fingers are missing or deformed.
Hanan, Heba and others may not know the difference between cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. The only thing they want is to live their lives without disfigurement.
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