When Tran Vu Van Anh returned home for the first time after undergoing plastic surgery, her mother refused to speak to her for an entire month and her relatives could not recognise her.

But the 22-year-old says she has no regrets.

In a recent social media post sharing her surgery experience, Tran, hailing from Vietnam, confessed that she had always been shy and insecure due to her "big and rough" nose and "lack of chin".

"I didn't look good," she wrote. "I always wanted to have plastic surgery to change my life."

Working two jobs as a receptionist and a waitress, Tran managed to save enough money for her first surgery — a rhinoplasty at 19.

Knowing that her family was conservative and would object, Tran did not tell them about her plans.

"I was most afraid when I did the first round [of surgery]. My family did not know then. I only had a close friend who came along. On the operating table, I could only trust the doctor and hope everything would smoothly."

After her rhinoplasty, Tran went on to get breast augmentation, double eyelid surgery and face fillers.

Three years on, she's finally satisfied with how she looks.

"Fortunately all the surgeries succeeded. With the new round of surgery, I was finally able to be more confident after all those years of low self-esteem," she wrote.

But her family was less than happy with her transformation.

Not only did most of her friends and family not recognise her when she returned to her hometown, her mother was "very angry" with her, Tran said.

Fortunately, after a month of giving her the cold shoulder, her mother gradually accepted it and came around.

By sharing her story, Tran, who now works in the beauty industry, hopes to inspire other women to "improve their beauty" and be "more satisfied with themselves".

With a similar philosophy towards beauty, Hoang An is another young Vietnamese who says his life has changed for the better after plastic surgery.

The 25-year-old managed to triple his income thanks to his improved looks, the result of four surgeries in the span of eight months, said local media reports.

"Although I'm not a bad-looking person, I love beauty so I decided to go for plastic surgery to perfect myself," Hoang explained. "Moreover, because I work in the spa field, appearance is also quite important to reach customers."

According to Hoang, customers at the spa are more likely to entrust their beauty treatments to a good-looking person.

When asked if he was addicted to plastic surgery, Hoang protested, saying that he was simply fixing certain areas to become "more beautiful and perfect".

While Tran and Hoang's stories may paint a rosy picture of cosmetic enhancements, Vietnamese doctors have warned against cheap, quick fixes at unlicensed clinics.

In October last year, two women in Ho Chi Minh City died after botched surgeries, reported Viet Nam News.

According to Dang Thi Xuan Huong, the vice chairwoman of Vietnam Beauty Association (VBA), the growing demand for plastic surgery has resulted in a mushrooming of beauty clinics.

These clinics may obtain licences for other surgeries, but advertise nose jobs, breast enhancements and other cosmetic surgeries.

Those interested in plastic surgery should only visit hospitals with proper facilities and legitimate surgeons, the Vietnam Medical Association said.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com

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