Chilean centre taps into US$50m plastic/aesthetic surgery market:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Clinica Gaudium has opened in Chile with the aim of tapping into both the plastic and aesthetic surgery markets, which it estimates are jointly worth US$50m. The Santiago-based centre, built at a cost of over US$1m, promises to provide, for the first time in Chile, plastic (medical reconstructive) and aesthetic surgery "at a medical level" under one roof. "These activities have undergone very strong expansion in Chile but, until now, have not been available at a single location," said executive director Javier Latorre. There was a 61% annual increase in breast implant imports in 2003, according to the Chilean central bank's imports register. The Gaudium centre claims to have installed state-of-the-art technologies, including electro-optical synergy (ELOS), which combines laser and radio-frequency technologies and has applications in dermatology and peripheral vascular surgery (phlebology).