Breast and rear section, most common requests in plastic surgery— Aranmolate Ayobami

Dr Aranmolate Ayobami is the Chief Executive Officer of Grandville Medical and Laser, a plastic and aesthetic surgery centre. He speaks to JOY MARCUS about the future of plastic surgery in Nigeria

Do you think Nigeria is ripe for cosmetic surgery?

For me, I feel that the market has always been there. Also, we have a specific set of people in the country who can afford to do this because it is a bit expensive. And there is a lot of standard that comes with doing constructive surgery. People will compare your work with what is done abroad and if you can’t meet up to that standard, a lot of people will not come to you.

Some people feel that those who engage in cosmetic surgery are people who struggle with low self-esteem. What is your take on this?

Majority of the work of plastic surgeons are basically reconstructive works. There are specific things that may affect you when you get older such as the pre-aging process and other complications. However, there are also people who have low self-esteem because they have lost their elegant shape over time. If when you were younger, you were size 12, then you started giving birth to children, and became a size 18, you will definitely want to do something about that to boost your self-esteem and make you elegant again. I have received a lot of testimonies from people about how their confidence was restored after having surgery. I have heard of cases of women that are usually embarrassed whenever they are naked in front of their husbands; so, they switch off the lights because they don’t want him to see their body.

Do you agree with the school of thought that says, ‘fixing people up’ is against the holy books?

The people that say so should go back to the time when we rode on horses or donkeys because cars are also part of the knowledge which God gave man. They should basically start living in the past. I just feel that some people are ignorant because the same people who criticise women who do surgery are the same people who run after them when they get their flat stomach and curves fixed. When these men eventually marry a shapeless woman, you see them body-shaming her by telling her that she doesn’t look nice. It is very wrong for people to condemn plastic surgery or those who do it because it is a free world. If people say plastic surgery is bad, what about the procedures done on women who have Caesarean Section? It is God that gives doctors the knowledge. I remember a story in the Bible where King Pharaoh had a dream and Joseph interpreted the dream. It is the same thing now. When people have problems with their bodies, I fix them up.

When you started out, were you encouraged by family and friends?

No, I was not, and I wasn’t expecting anything from anybody. I am a surgeon and as a surgeon, one is expected to do certain things. I do reconstructive work and majority of the people who practise surgery do reconstruction. I knew that I was going to do reconstruction work in the long run. When I started, I posted the results of some of the works I had done on the Internet and a lot of people became interested because they could now do their procedures here without having to fly out of the country. However, my parents are indifferent about it because I have an uncle who is a plastic surgeon and we share the same surname. They don’t care about how I do my job, as long as I am doing the right thing and not going against societal norms

How did you start your company?

When I started, my plan was to practise in the United States. While I was trying to get my visa, things were not working out for me; so, I decided to start here and I am so grateful at how it has grown.

What category of people makes up your client base?

We get a lot of single men and women. Also, married men and women come in too. I have not done a study on that.  All categories of people, old and young, come to the clinic for one issue or the other. There are people who have scars and growths on their bodies.

What part of the body do women mostly reconstruct?

The breast and the rear sections are the commonest sections in surgery. The procedure has to do with removing fat from under the skin and adding it wherever you want. In Africa, we usually store fat in our stomach, round the waist area and the back. A lot of people approach me and say that they don’t like the fat in their stomach; so, we move the fat to their rear end. A lot of people just want a curvy body with large hips but not a large breast. However, the breast job is not so common in Africa. A lot of ladies usually have sagging breasts which we call tosis in medicine.

What has been your experience running a cosmetic surgery clinic in Nigeria?

It has been quite challenging because a lot of people who come for procedures are perfectionists. So, you really need to be on top of your game. If not, you will be frustrated. I have had one or two unsatisfied clients; there is no amount of work you do on them that can ever satisfy them. I have learnt to manage them and tell them that some of their expectations cannot be met. It is impossible to totally transform a person beyond his or her body.

How do you feel when people ridicule and insult you?

I have never experienced anything like that because I am firstly a doctor.  Even if they have anything against my work, I don’t care. It is my job and some of them are just jealous because they can’t believe that an African can do what I do.  If they want to do what I do, they should go back to school and learn how to become a surgeon. I will say the level of exposure is still very low and that is as a result of our conservative society.

Do you get requests from religious leaders to stop what you do?

No, I don’t. But if they do, I will ask them to also stop collecting tithes and offerings too.

Which schools did you attend?

I attended College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos. I did my residency at the department of plastic surgery at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos. After my residency, I didn’t have any formal training again because I was trained as a plastic surgeon. The only thing I did was an observership at the St. Elizabeth Regional Burn Center, Nebraska, USA, and the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, to see how it is done.  Also, all the equipment I use for my procedures are imported.

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