Things go wrong
Perhaps this unique history is part of the reason why plastic surgeons have found such a home in Ryazan. The more immediately tangible reason, however, is the town’s close proximity to the Russian capital, with its big bucks, bling and body culture.
“We are close enough to Moscow for our clients to get to us easily,” says Da Vinci’s leading surgeon Viktor Bezukov.
On average, Bezukov performs a dozen operations a week. The most common procedures are face lifts, which cost 26,000 rubles ($450) on average. The surgeon has built an enviable reputation in town, and judging by complementary posts left by women on local beauty forums, he is easily the most popular surgeon in the region.
“Like all beauticians, I want women to feel comfortable in their own skin,” says Bezukov. “It’s my profession to ensure this.”
The surgeon says that most patients worry about safety, but that standards are improving in the industry.
Sometimes things can go wrong, especially when operations are conducted by unqualified surgeons. Last year, Ryazan made national headlines when a 32-year-old woman died on the operating table during a nose enhancement procedure. She had suffered heart failure whilst unconscious and under general anaesthetic.
“As a surgeon, that incident horrified me,” says Berzukov.
Following the incident, local authorities and federal security officers (FSB) searched Ryazan’s plastic surgery clinics.
Practitioners stress the need for water tight regulation. “Getting the appropriate training and operating within the law is essential,” surgeon Vyacheslav Ivanov told The Moscow Times.
Silicone for the people
The incident did not, it seems, put off clients from flocking to Ryazan’s clinics.
Both Berzukov and Ivanov say—on the contrary—their clientele is growing, and it includes an ever wider cross-section of Russian society.
When the former governor set up Ryazan’s first clinics in the early 2000s, the regulars were primarily the wives of local officials; today’s patients are more diverse.
“We have girls of all ages over 18 and of all sizes,” says Ivanov. “It’s becoming more like going to the dentist: Plastic surgery is, and should be, for the people.”