Elias Shammas, a cosmetic surgeon, sounds wistful when he talks about the steady stream of Gulf Arab women that would visit his practice in Beirut.
Women from the UAE and the wider Arabian Gulf had long converged on Beirut for nips and tucks. They would enjoy the weather and scenery while maintaining their privacy while recovering from their surgeries.
"They would come here for procedures and go up to the mountains in Brummana and recover there," said Dr Shammas, the medical director of the Hazmieh International Medical Centre in Beirut.
"Upon return, when people say something looks different about them. They would reply: 'We ate apples in Lebanon. We feel good.' They don't say we did surgery."
But now, Lebanese plastic surgeons such as Dr Shammas are shifting the focus of their practices to the Gulf after the number of patients have dropped by a third in the past four months. A major reason for the loss in patients is Syria's civil war, which started to spill into Beirut last year. The civil war sparked tensions between supporters of Bashar Al Assad's government and those who supported the opposition that led to clashes and bombings.
In August, Gulf countries issued travel warnings to Lebanon after a wave of kidnappings related to the civil war targeted Gulf Arabs.
"It's a pity. We are not more dangerous like Africa, Iraq or Afghanistan that don't have travel bans," said Dr Shammas, who is also affiliated with Image Concept, a Lebanese tourism firm that has a focus on plastic surgery with offices in Dubai.
"If the situation remains like this in Lebanon we will have to look at other options," he said. "I am thinking either Kuwait or Qatar."
Dr Nader Saab, another Lebanese plastic surgeon, has started flying in his medical team to the Dubai Healthcare City once a week for surgeries.
He is no stranger to Dubai, having offered consultations in the city every three weeks since 2006. While advice was offered in Dubai, surgeries were always conducted in Beruit - until this month.
"If they won't come here, you have to go there," Dr Saab said. "I haven't been affected like the others in Beirut, but some of my patients are hesitating to come to Lebanon because of the political situation. They don't want to take the risk even though there's nothing."
A 29-year-old Emirati woman who had rhinoplasty - a procedure more commonly known as a nose job - in Beirut last year, said she has made an appointment for further cosmetic enhancing in Dubai when her Lebanese surgeon started operating there.
"It's the experience of it all," she said. "The pampering. And the trust factor, that they do this all the time and nothing could potentially go wrong."
Doctors that remain in Beirut are relying on Lebanese citizens and diaspora, known for their preference for plastic surgery, to make up for the declining number of patients from the Gulf. Lebanon's First National Bank offers personal loans for up to US$5,000 (Dh18,350) for plastic surgery, according to its website.
"We still have volumes from the Lebanese locals and those from other countries," said Dr Tarek Husami, who runs his own practice in Beirut. "We are still alive, we are still working. Lebanon always picks up."
halsayegh@thenational.ae
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
more from Janine di Giovanni
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Read more about the coronavirus
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
