Women feel pressure as Argentina becomes cosmetic surgery capital

Four years after a massive devaluation of the Argentine peso made Buenos Aires one of the cheapest of the world's great cities, tourists are flocking in on package deals combining sightseeing and tango lessons with a session under the plastic surgeon's knife.

Facelifts, boob jobs, nose jobs, fat reduction and penis enlargement - the capital's numerous 'boutique' clinics provide all these at prices way below the US and European equivalent. No worries about the skills of the cosmetic surgeons either: "Women in Argentina are obsessed with physical perfection," says Dr Raul Banegas, "so we have to be the best at what we do."

But while most health tourists return home delighted with their new bodies, there is growing concern in Argentina about the pressure on women, the young especially, to conform to the 'thin is beautiful' culture epitomised by supermodels and movie stars.

As The First Post reported last year, the government responded to the rising incidence of anorexia (only Japan has a higher rate pro rata) by introducing a law forcing clothes designers and retailers in Buenos Aires to cater for larger sizes and fining those who don't comply.

Not that this means much to Adriana, a comely 22-year-old bank worker who is convinced her bum is too big to venture onto the beach at Mar del Plata in one of the vestigial string bikinis that Argentines call the 'colaless' - derived from the Spanish for buttocks and meaning 'without buttocks'. She doesn't care that her curvaceous shape conforms to what was once considered the ideal Latin American female figure (not for nothing was Jennifer Lopez (left) dubbed 'La Guitarra'). Instead, Adriana is saving up for a buttock reduction operation, or gluteoplasty: "My parents think I'm crazy, but all my girlfriends understand."

But as Adriana dreams of a smaller bottom, there is a brisk demand from both Argentines and nip 'n' tuck vacationers for an upgrade to something more generous. The enhancement process at the booming Plenitas clinic offers a choice between silicone implants and a process by which excess fat from elsewhere on the body is pumped into the buttocks.

In due time, patients will be up and about for those tango lessons, learning how to flaunt their reconfigured 'colas' in the classical Argentine manner. ·