Batswana are slowly catching up to international trends in medicine. Gone are the days when some women or men envied what some people in other parts of the world were enjoying.
Today, Batswana like the rest of the world have embraced one of the most interesting fields of medicine - Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Dr. German Castillo, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon based at Lenmed Bokamoso Private Hospital attests that Batswana have taken up well to the phenomenon that is Plastic Surgery/Cosmetic Surgery. Dr. Castillo who hails from Cuba is one of the doctors based in Botswana fulltime who gets to see how his services transform lives. Plastic surgery restores and improves function, as well as appearance. The surgery can be done on any part of the body excluding the central nervous system. It is divided into two categories. This surgical speciality includes reconstructive, which includes hand, micro surgery, as well as treatment of burns and cosmetic surgery, which aims at improving the appearance of a patient.
Dr. Castillo works on both paediatric and adult patients. His special interests areas include but are not limited to: breast reduction, augmentation, lifting and reconstructions, Abdominoplasty’s which includes tummy tuck and liposuctions, Otoplasty - procedure to change the shape, position or size of the ears, Rhinoplasty, surgery to change the shape of the nose which can be done to change the appearance of the nose or improve breathing),
Blepharoplasty - to remove excess skin from the eyelids, management of Keloid and hypertrophy scars, contracture scar release, skin grafting, as well as rotation flap and lipodystrophy’s corrections. Dr. Castillo says one of the popular procedures that most of his clients come for is breast augmentation. He says Batswana have been gifted with big cup sizes, and for some this comes at a cost, with some patients having to deal with issues such as back pain.
His job is to give these clients their lives back, and give them cup sizes that do not break their backs. The fact that some Medical Aids have seen the need to approve these procedures, provided that there is a good enough reason, means that those who used to suffer in the past, get a new lease on life. Dr. Castillo started as a family physician, and completed his training as a Plastic Surgeon in 2011. He arrived in Botswana in 2014, working for Botswana Government, and has previously worked at Nyangabgwe Hospital, and went into private practice in 2018. He explains that Plastic surgery is not only cosmetic but that it is reconstructive as well.
“The major issue here in Botswana is big breasts. A lot of people request for this procedure,” he says.
Last year he performed 137 of these procedures - one of his biggest number of procedures. In total, he has performed about 700 procedures. He does a lot of things on the breast which also include lifting and enlargement with silicone implants after cancer. One of the clients that he has performed on was a double G, and did not have a bra size. But her transformation was incredible as she went down to a Cup B size. In most cases, he will hear what size the patients wants, but will tell a patient what is possible and not possible.
“Usually I make Cup A, B, or C. When you come for this type of surgery, they want a Cup B,” Dr. Castillo says. For breasts, he says they need to do the procedure after the breasts have stopped growing, which is around 21 years up to 60 years but this varies on clients. The majority of his clients are very happy, as they leave his clinic transformed. Most of them cannot stop singing praises about how he has changed their lives. “Some of them have dealt with backaches for years, and others had low self-esteem, and could not find the right cup sizes. Others however, will not be happy as they are not happy with the scar, and had a different picture in mind,” he points out explaining that he cannot make a client like another person.
In Cosmetics, he says that everything is about the concept of beauty, or what one considers to be pretty. The concept of beauty is a challenge and differs according to race/ continent. In his experiences, this concept of beauty revolves around being symmetrical, proportional and regular.
“The concept of beauty in India is not the same as in Europe,” he says.
Dr. Castillo says the least interest is in nose jobs. He believes Batswana do not have bad noses. Castillo also performs tummy tucks, liposuction popular in young people, fat transfer, taking fat from part of the body to the other part of the body, what some call Brazilian butt lifting.
This procedure is done without implants, and the excess fat can be taken from hips, abdomen, lower back and thighs. With tummy tucks for example, the excess might come from pregnancy, or being overweight.
“A lot of people might not be overweight but might have had maybe three or four pregnancies, which damages the tummy, and will leave them with hanging skin, and stretch marks.
“And when they train, they don’t get results, because when the skin is damaged or too much, when you do tummy tuck, you also repair the abdominal wall, and you improve the shape,” Dr. Castillo explains.
He says that with butt lifting, some may want to have fuller butts, while others may want to have a bit of a reduction. The fat for the butt lifting can be taken from the thigh or tummy.
“You can transfer fat anywhere in the body,” he explains. In the past, he says that this procedure used things like silicone but that this is no longer the case. Rhinoplasty is not very common, probably because most people do not like scars.
Africans, he says have a base that might need cutting around, while some clients from other parts of the country might not require this cutting around, with the procedure performed inside the nose.
Showing off some of his procedures, such as fat transfer, he points out that they have yielded a transformed body. Some of the clients did not have a butt, and with the fat transfer, they can now spot a bright future behind them.
Contrary to popular belief, men also require his services, and they come for issues concerning breasts that might be enlarged due to medication or hormonal imbalances. Other men come for tummy tucks which might have given them problems such as hanging and hiding the genital area.
Today, Batswana like the rest of the world have embraced one of the most interesting fields of medicine - Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Dr. German Castillo, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon based at Lenmed Bokamoso Private Hospital attests that Batswana have taken up well to the phenomenon that is Plastic Surgery/Cosmetic Surgery. Dr. Castillo who hails from Cuba is one of the doctors based in Botswana fulltime who gets to see how his services transform lives. Plastic surgery restores and improves function, as well as appearance. The surgery can be done on any part of the body excluding the central nervous system. It is divided into two categories. This surgical speciality includes reconstructive, which includes hand, micro surgery, as well as treatment of burns and cosmetic surgery, which aims at improving the appearance of a patient.
Dr. Castillo works on both paediatric and adult patients. His special interests areas include but are not limited to: breast reduction, augmentation, lifting and reconstructions, Abdominoplasty’s which includes tummy tuck and liposuctions, Otoplasty - procedure to change the shape, position or size of the ears, Rhinoplasty, surgery to change the shape of the nose which can be done to change the appearance of the nose or improve breathing),
Blepharoplasty - to remove excess skin from the eyelids, management of Keloid and hypertrophy scars, contracture scar release, skin grafting, as well as rotation flap and lipodystrophy’s corrections. Dr. Castillo says one of the popular procedures that most of his clients come for is breast augmentation. He says Batswana have been gifted with big cup sizes, and for some this comes at a cost, with some patients having to deal with issues such as back pain.
His job is to give these clients their lives back, and give them cup sizes that do not break their backs. The fact that some Medical Aids have seen the need to approve these procedures, provided that there is a good enough reason, means that those who used to suffer in the past, get a new lease on life. Dr. Castillo started as a family physician, and completed his training as a Plastic Surgeon in 2011. He arrived in Botswana in 2014, working for Botswana Government, and has previously worked at Nyangabgwe Hospital, and went into private practice in 2018. He explains that Plastic surgery is not only cosmetic but that it is reconstructive as well.
“The major issue here in Botswana is big breasts. A lot of people request for this procedure,” he says.
Last year he performed 137 of these procedures - one of his biggest number of procedures. In total, he has performed about 700 procedures. He does a lot of things on the breast which also include lifting and enlargement with silicone implants after cancer. One of the clients that he has performed on was a double G, and did not have a bra size. But her transformation was incredible as she went down to a Cup B size. In most cases, he will hear what size the patients wants, but will tell a patient what is possible and not possible.
“Usually I make Cup A, B, or C. When you come for this type of surgery, they want a Cup B,” Dr. Castillo says. For breasts, he says they need to do the procedure after the breasts have stopped growing, which is around 21 years up to 60 years but this varies on clients. The majority of his clients are very happy, as they leave his clinic transformed. Most of them cannot stop singing praises about how he has changed their lives. “Some of them have dealt with backaches for years, and others had low self-esteem, and could not find the right cup sizes. Others however, will not be happy as they are not happy with the scar, and had a different picture in mind,” he points out explaining that he cannot make a client like another person.
In Cosmetics, he says that everything is about the concept of beauty, or what one considers to be pretty. The concept of beauty is a challenge and differs according to race/ continent. In his experiences, this concept of beauty revolves around being symmetrical, proportional and regular.
“The concept of beauty in India is not the same as in Europe,” he says.
Dr. Castillo says the least interest is in nose jobs. He believes Batswana do not have bad noses. Castillo also performs tummy tucks, liposuction popular in young people, fat transfer, taking fat from part of the body to the other part of the body, what some call Brazilian butt lifting.
This procedure is done without implants, and the excess fat can be taken from hips, abdomen, lower back and thighs. With tummy tucks for example, the excess might come from pregnancy, or being overweight.
“A lot of people might not be overweight but might have had maybe three or four pregnancies, which damages the tummy, and will leave them with hanging skin, and stretch marks.
“And when they train, they don’t get results, because when the skin is damaged or too much, when you do tummy tuck, you also repair the abdominal wall, and you improve the shape,” Dr. Castillo explains.
He says that with butt lifting, some may want to have fuller butts, while others may want to have a bit of a reduction. The fat for the butt lifting can be taken from the thigh or tummy.
“You can transfer fat anywhere in the body,” he explains. In the past, he says that this procedure used things like silicone but that this is no longer the case. Rhinoplasty is not very common, probably because most people do not like scars.
Africans, he says have a base that might need cutting around, while some clients from other parts of the country might not require this cutting around, with the procedure performed inside the nose.
Showing off some of his procedures, such as fat transfer, he points out that they have yielded a transformed body. Some of the clients did not have a butt, and with the fat transfer, they can now spot a bright future behind them.
Contrary to popular belief, men also require his services, and they come for issues concerning breasts that might be enlarged due to medication or hormonal imbalances. Other men come for tummy tucks which might have given them problems such as hanging and hiding the genital area.
