But it’s not just a pedicure or a facial that Tan’s excited about. She, like an increasing number of Vietnamese, is talking about cosmetic surgery, in the hopes of looking younger and more attractive.

With more money on hand, Vietnamese are following in the West’s perfection-obsessed footsteps, seeking the better body or prettier face to hold onto that man or get that good job. Hundreds of clinics are springing up in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, offering up a classic menu of plastic options.

Local clinics offer rhinoplasty for around $200; facelifts for $400; breast augmentation, $1,500-$2.000. No small fee compared to the average income in Vietnam, but still just 15 per cent of costs in places such as Australia or the US.

According to Tran Thien My of Dr Tu’s Cosmetic Surgery & Laser Clinic, the clinic receives around 1000 clients each year, mostly between the ages of 35-55. Women make up the majority (80 per cent), seeking rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, facelifts, skin resurfacing and a number of other services. Male clients typically seek therapies for hair loss, tattoo removal and acne.

“Cosmetic surgery helps a person to be better looking. It gives them more confidence,” My says. “In that respect, it has a very high success rate.” Some clients simply want to change their image, he adds.

And, as the clinic’s director, Tran Thi Anh Tu, MD, also a lecturer at the Medical Staff Training Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, adds, there are plenty of well-trained professionals in Vietnam to carry out the job.

Lai Cong Hiep, MD, Director of Viet-My Institute of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, is one such example. Dr Hiep is considered the leader among the country’s cosmetic surgeons. His honours and awards include American Medal of Honor, Golden Hands in Operations and Christopher Columbus in Surgery. His name has also been included in Who’s Who in the World 2004, Dictionary of International Biography and Great Minds of the 21st Century.

But as cosmetic surgery’s popularity has ballooned, so too have myths about its powers.

In the consulting room of Hanoi-based Thu Cuc Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, I met a woman who was seeking a facelift, while her daughter was there for a rhinoplasty. They were both terribly disappointed to learn that even the best technique wouldn’t transform an average person into a beauty queen, that the girl’s snub nose would still be a bit snub after an operation, and that even three concessive lifts could not guarantee the old woman’s cheeks from hollowing again in four or five years. The fact that the fat used for the procedure is taken from some other part of the body really terrified them. “Can’t it be pork fat?” the woman suggested. Such unrealistic expectations aren’t uncommon, Tran Thien My told me. He says his clinics have turned away many clients who wished to have their nose bridge enhanced in a way that simply doesn’t function on a face built with an Asian structure. Artificial bridges that are too high can chap or tear the nose.

But not all clinics are like Dr Tu’s. My knows of a woman in her late 40s who found another clinic to perform the surgery – but since the procedure, she’s been unable to leave the house without wearing a mask. Someone, somewhere was willing to perform the job.

Right at the entrance of Hong Kong Beauty Salon & Spa in Hanoi, a large eye-catching sign informs passers-by that surgical and non-surgical procedures are available. But when I inquire about liposuction, the heavily made-up manager points out the numerous disadvantages of the service (costliness, infection, scars, etc.).

Instead, she strongly recommends some thinning lotion. “But don’t you have liposuction advertised?” I ask. “Yes,” she replies sheepishly. “Where is it performed?” “Over there,” she says, pointing to a 5-sqm attic that contains an unmade bed. Obviously, liposuction had been casually added just to make Hong Kong a ‘large-scale’ beauty salon.

Another cunning technique to lure naïve “beauty seekers” was discovered at the reception desk of the SP Cosmetic Surgery Clinic. A thank you letter was on display, apparently sent by some client from England. But the letter had no postmark. Not only that, but a sign suggested that Dr Nguyen Dac Hung, Dean of the Reconstructive Surgery Department at Hanoi Medical University, was an advisor to the clinic.

I met Professor Hung the next day, who now works at 108 Military Hospital. The surgeon was taken aback upon hearing how his name was being used. “I’ve never cooperated with any private clinics,” he said, baffled.

Stories like these are certainly more likely to occur the more popular – and profitable – plastic surgery becomes. If nothing else, perhaps they’ll encourage the government to tighten their control over such clinics and make people think twice before going under the knife.

Timeout, a magazine of Vietnam Investment Review.