Cosmetic treatments drive medical tourists to India

With a growing number of people travelling overseas for high quality and cost-effective medical care, Apollo Hospitals, Asia’s foremost healthcare provider, is building on India’s rising stature as a medical tourism destination by offering state-of-the-art treatment facilities including advanced cosmetic procedures. Ultherapy, a non-invasive cosmetic procedure increasingly sought after by people for slowing down the ageing process is the latest in Apollo’s cosmetology portfolio.

Over 60,000 foreign patients from across the world, including the UAE, Oman and Qatar, and other
Middle Eastern countries have been successfully treated for various conditions at Apollo hospital during the last five years and the numbers are increasing every year.

Currently in vogue across 55 countries, Ultherapy is a micro-focussed ultrasound treatment for skin tightening, which uses the body’s own regenerative response to stimulate the production of collagen, the structural protein that provides strength and elasticity to the skin. Also known as ‘lunchtime lift’ since it doesn’t require no overnight stay at the clinic, the procedure last 60-90 minutes and involves no cuts or scars on the surface of the skin.

“Beautiful, glowing and younger-looking skin requires intensive care, both internally and externally. Especially, after crossing the 30s it takes extra effort to overcome the signs of ageing. Ultherapy provides an immediate soothing effect by slowing down the ageing process by creating new structural collagen and eventually tightens it thus improving skin texture and tone,” says Dr Shahin Nooryezdan, Senior Consultant – Cosmetic Surgery at Apollo Cosmetic Clinics, New Delhi.

India is now among the premier medical tourism destinations and a KPMG study in 2014 placed the country among the top three such destinations in Asia, mainly due to the low cost of treatment, quality healthcare infrastructure and availability of highly skilled doctors. Cosmetic procedures like Ultherapy is especially appealing to medical tourists who seek to combine the best destination experience with minimum hospital stay.

“You can literally choose to get an Ultherapy session done in your lunch hour and resume your tour or go back to work. Unlike lasers, which penetrate the skin from outside-in, Ultherapy bypasses the surface of the skin, specifically targeting the deep, structural skin tissues where collagen lives. The technique uses ultrasound pulse energy to enter into the tissue, working from inside-out delivering thermal energy. It’s this thermal energy that stimulates new collagen production,” explains Dr Nooreyezdan.

Ultherapy is FDA approved for skin tightening of the face and neck, usually recommended for those between the ages of 35 and 60 with early signs of laxity. Patients in this age group can see results within three to six months with a single treatment but those above 60 may require a second treatment in six months. Treatments specific for certain areas such as the chin, eyes or brow can last for several years after which another session can be done.

Dr Nooreyezdan added that Ultherapy scores in convenience and appeal over other procedures like fillers and botox, which are overpriced, can be painful and need to be done regularly. “We are seeing more and more people from far and wide opting for Ultherapy in our clinic as they seek to stay presentable, confident and competitive in the workplace.”

Apollo Hospitals opened their first dedicated cosmetic care facility in New Delhi in 2013 and since then the specialised centre has performed various cosmetic procedures on several patients, including hundreds from abroad. The hospital performs a wide range of cosmetic procedures including surgical liposuction (abdominoplasty) to remove excess body fat, rhinoplasty (nose job) and breast augmentation. Botox fillers to reduce wrinkles, laser hair removal, acne and scar removal, skin tightening, and the ultrasound-based anti-ageing technique, Ultherapy are among the most sought-after non-surgical procedures nowadays.