Cosmetic surgery is becoming so popular these days among Nigerian celebrities as beauty standards to them are no more about having a pretty face but a curvy and snatched body.
Women no longer seek to have slim frames; rather, they prefer wider hips, bigger bottoms and contoured breasts, and so they go through a lot all in the bid to look s3xy.
The most common cosmic surgery is a “butt lift,” which involves liposuction of the abdomen, thighs, flanks, and intergluteal region, then injecting that fat into the woman’s buttocks giving them an hourglass shape. We also have a facelift, botox, tummy tuck, breast augmentation, and laser liposuction among others.
Botox is done to straighten fine lines and wrinkles around the face region to prevent ageing. Needles are injected around the upper neck region (the process is called mono threading) that releases collagen to the face.
Cosmetic surgery is said to be a secret to a youthful appearance and helps to build more confidence in women about their bodies.
Most celebrities said they had always wanted to look a certain way and money has offered them the opportunity to do so.
The trend is said to have been propagated by the alleged praises of music icon Beyonce, the Kardashians/Jenners and other celebrities for having a “perfect” body.
When the cosmetic surgery company was introduced to Nigeria by Modupe Ozolua in 2001, it came with lots of criticisms from members of the public but despite that, her expensive service attracted the high-class women of the society. Among the people who embraced it then is Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, according to The Guardian Life.
The former first lady of Nigeria, Stella Obasanjo was said to have died from one of the processes called a tummy tuck, though not in Nigeria, so this made people decry cosmetic surgery but in recent times, cosmetic surgery has become a favourite to most women, especially celebrities.
List of some celebrities and socialities who have had cosmetic surgery
While some female celebrities are denying that they haven’t done it before, some are open about both surgical and non-surgical cosmetic surgery.
Here are a few people who have opened up to it below:
Tonto Dike
Tonto Dike is a Nigerian actress, singer, humanitarian and politician. In December 2017, Linda Ikeji TV aired a trailer showing her enhancement procedure. Dikeh was so happy with the new enhancement and even posted pictures of her new body.
While some Nigerians accused her of not appreciating her natural body, some praised her for telling the truth about her new physique. In August 2021, Tonto Dike announced that she had undergone two liposuctions and was waiting for the third. She revealed in an interview with BBC that she didn’t like her body before the surgery.
Ini Edo
Ini Edo is a veteran Nigerian actress who had her first surgery in 2019 and people trolled her that the surgery made her shape look awkward. She later had her body redone. Rumours had it that she did liposuction and breast enlargement.
Toyin Lawani
Toyin Lawani is a Nigerian entrepreneur and fashion designer to top celebrities. She revealed that while she has never had butt surgery, she has had a 360 liposuction on her stomach and breast implants after she eliminated her lumps. Toyin also revealed that she had four surgeries in different countries like the UK, USA, Turkey and Dubai to get rid of her fibroids. She said she did a 6packs surgery known as tummy tuck (usually done for people who don’t have any fat to take out on their tummy). Toyin said she touched her body only for “good reasons”.
Laura Ikeji
Influencer, Laura Ikeji, documented her nose job on her Instagram story, and more recently her chin was injected with fillers.
Toke Makinwa
Toke Makinwa is a Nigerian radio personality, television host, vlogger, lifestyle entrepreneur, actress and author. Last year she opened up about having her body done in a question and answer session on her new episode of Toke Moments on Youtube. Toke said she had surgery done on her body after she got her fibroid removed and also had lip filler. She revealed that she enhanced her body to look better and curvy in clothes, though her breast is real.
Blessing Okoro
Self-acclaimed relationship expert, Blessing Okoro aka Blessing CEO recently did liposuction and she didn’t waste any time to flaunt it all over her social media handles, while some Nigerians praised her for her new body, others lashed at her back to back.
Nina Ivy
Ex-BBN housemate Nina Ivy walked through her entire procedure and flaunted her newly-acquired body.
Nengi Hampson
Nengi, a former BBNaija housemate, and currently the senior special assistant (SSA) to the Bayelsa State government had said she did liposuction because she was not confident of her big stomach.
Mercy Eke
The season 4 Big Brother winner had her hips and backside done. She revealed it to the world when she stepped on the Big Brother stage.
Are there complications involved in cosmetic surgery?
The answer is yes, lots of complications, which can even lead to death.
Here are a few complications that can occur, according to Healthline.com.
1. Organ damage
Liposuction can be traumatic for the internal organs. Visceral perforations or punctures can occur when the surgical probe comes into contact with internal organs. Repairing these injuries can require additional surgery. The perforations may also be fatal.
2. Scarring
Surgery typically results in some scarring. Since cosmetic surgery seeks to improve the way you look, scars can be particularly troubling.
Hypertrophic scarring, for instance, is an abnormally red and thick raised scar. Along with smooth, hard keloid scars, it occurs in 1.0 to 3.7 per cent of tummy tucks.
3. Hematoma
Hematoma is a pocket of blood that resembles a large, painful bruise. It occurs in 1 per cent of breast augmentation procedures. It’s also the most common complication after a facelift, occurring in an average of 1 per cent of patients.
4. Seroma
Seroma is a condition that occurs when serum, or sterile body fluid, pools beneath the surface of the skin, resulting in swelling and sometimes pain. This can occur after any surgery, and it’s the most common complication following a tummy tuck, occurring in 15 to 30 per cent of patients. Because seromas can become infected, they’re often drained with a needle. This effectively removes them, although there’s a chance of recurrence.
5. Blood loss
As with any surgery, some blood loss is expected. However, uncontrolled blood loss can lead to a drop in blood pressure with potentially deadly outcomes. Blood loss can happen while on the operating table, but also internally, after surgery.
6. Infection
Though postoperative care includes steps to reduce the risk of infection, it remains one of the more common complications of plastic surgery. For instance, infections occur in 1.1 to 2.5 per cent of trusted sources of people who undergo breast augmentation.
CAUTION!
Embrace the body God has given to you.
Avoid eating too much.
Eat healthily and eat more vegetables and fruits.
Exercise regularly, if you can, to keep fit.
If you must undergo plastic surgery, first check your pocket, like the popular saying, “better soup na money kill am”, don’t go for a low-budget surgery, you might not live to even enjoy the new body, a lot of ladies have died trying it.
Also, confirm if the Doctor is professional in what he does. Avoid going to quacks.
You should also investigate the facility where your surgery will take place to avoid infections.
