In Colombia, more than 350,000 plastic surgeries are performed each year; that is, 978 procedures a day, 40 an hour and three procedures every five minutes.
Plastic surgery is one of the most profitable branches of medical services in the country. The demand for cosmetic procedures responds to a massive need, fed by the hyper-sexism of the Colombian society which limits the professional and personal opportunities for women. Often, “being pretty” is the only way forward for a Colombian woman.
This is why it is understandable that there is such a high demand for such surgeries and so little regulation. Over the past decades, Colombia gradually became the perfect setting for offering unsafe surgeries, as the government took no serious action against the surgeries and victims felt too afraid to speak out.
