text: Plastic surgery gets boost in Brazil. Simona de Logu 
   RIO DE JANEIRO 1996-12-06 
   Plastic surgery is booming, especially among men, as Brazilians spend much of their new-found wealth on the latest beauty treatments, said the organisers of a four-day international plastic surgery conference that opened on Friday. The number of plastic surgeries in Brazil has jumped 30 percent to an estimated 150, 000 this year since an anti-inflation plan was introduced in July 1994, Farid Hakme, the president of the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society (SBCP), said. The number of operations on men increased even more--by 80 percent, from 8, 000 in 1994 to 15, 000 in 1995, he said. " Brazil ranks right at the top for plastic surgery with respect to the number of surgeons, the number of patients, number of operations, number of conferences. Our statistics are the highest for everything, " Hakme said. " We believe the increase in plastic surgeries for men results from the difficulties in the job market. People need to have a more youthful look to compete in the job market, given the profound changes in Latin America's economy. " 
   A controlled exchange rate, trade liberalisation and tight monetary policies have also dramatically curbed inflation, making more money available for cosmetic surgery. Brazil has been at the forefront in plastic surgery for decades and is home to one of the most famous surgeons, Ivo Pitangy. There are 6, 000 plastic surgeons there, of which 4, 500 have qualified to be members of the SBCP. Every year, 500 new plastic surgeons graduate in Brazil and medical students from all over the world come to study there. Hakme attributes Brazil's fascination with plastic surgery not to excessive vanity but to the country's mix and match of different races, which can create physical disharmonies. " 
   What happens is the nose sometimes doesn't match the mouth or the buttocks don't match with the legs, " he said. Brazil's most sought-after beauty treatment is liposuction in which fat is sucked away from areas of the body, with about 30, 000 operations a year at a cost of $3, 000 to $4, 000 each. Stomach tucks and breast operations are also popular since the tropical climate calls for flesh-baring fashions, but unlike women elsewhere Brazilians tend to have breast reductions and buttock implants. " The women who want to reduce their breasts here would probably want to increase them in the United States, " SBCP Vice-President Oswaldo Saldanha said. " 
   Beauty ideals and cultures are different in every country. " 
   Plastic surgery scares like the case in which Brazilian model Claudia Liz fell into a coma after being anaesthetised for a liposuction in October are not much of a deterrent. Saldanha said operations fell 30 percent immediately after that case but the rate was back to normal now.
competitors: Brazil Simona de Logu RIO DE JANEIRO Brazilians Brazil Farid Hakme Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society SBCP Brazil Hakme Latin America Brazil Ivo Pitangy SBCP Brazil Hakme Brazil Brazil Brazilians United States SBCP Oswaldo Saldanha Brazilian Claudia Liz Saldanha