One nose at a time: Rebuilding lost confidence in Kashmir

Shazia always missed the usually cherished school campus action. While her classmates would often gather around to take selfies and share laughter and meals together, she stayed in the shadows of her solitude.

Behind her reluctance to join the fun was her ‘distorted’ facial appearance which not only hit her confidence but also attracted haunting taunts from bullies in her school.

When the bullying became unbearable, Shazia, a Kashmiri girl from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, dropped out of school in Class 12. “My nose bump, which I developed after an accident during my childhood, made my teen years a traumatic and troubling experience,” says Shazia.

The girl suffered external damage, including a nose block, when she was hit by a stone. Shazia was in Class 5 then. Her parents tried to fix her condition with multiple surgeries, but it never helped her case.

Dilshada, Shazia’s mother, says her exhaustive visits to doctors couldn’t correct her daughter’s distorted appearance. “But years later,” Dilshada says, “We finally came in touch with ENT surgeons active at grassroots level in government hospitals. They restored my daughter’s nose shape and brought smiles back to her life.”

There are many like Shazia who have been able to put their past trauma behind, thanks to a bunch of ENT surgeons.

These Kashmir-based surgeons specialising in rhinoplasty are on a mission to treat nasal trauma inflicted by accidents, wall-collisions and congenital nasal obstructions, especially among the rural population.

Despite the dearth of rhinoplasty surgeons in Kashmir, ENT specialists are available in the primary health centres even in remote border areas.

Rhinoplasty, commonly called a nose job or nose reconstruction, is the procedure in which the tissue is gently raised off the structure of the nose and a shape is given to the bone and cartilage to improve the facial appearance. There are two types of rhinoplasties – reconstructive surgery that restores the form and functions of the nose, and cosmetic surgery that changes the appearance of the nose.

What has led to the growing popularity of the surgeries is that it is performed free of cost in government hospitals while it costs about Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000 in private ones.

During the past three years, around 800 such ‘free of cost’ surgeries have been performed in government hospitals across Kashmir.

“We would have done more such surgeries had there been enough operation theatre facilities in rural areas,” says Dr Mir Mushtaq, spokesperson for the Directorate of Health Services in Kashmir, under which, majority of the government hospitals operate.

“As of now, rhinoplasty surgeries are being performed at the JLNM Hospital in Srinagar, Budgam and Pulwama district hospitals,” he adds.

Behind the surge in the number of these surgeries, Dr Mushtaq says, is the growing awareness among young Kashmiris about the possibilities of looking better with this surgical intervention. “Over the past five years, youngsters have come forward for these corrective surgeries like never before,” Dr Mushtaq says. “I think awareness has been a key in this.”

The efforts of these surgeons have been duly acknowledged and hailed. More than anything, they’re restoring the lost self-confidence of the patients.

“There was a time when I was not comfortable before the camera,” says Imran Beigh, a 38-year-old weightlifter from Doda. “My nasal cartridge had broken during gym training.” Beigh then went for rhinoplasty and regained what he calls the ‘sportsman’s spirit’.

“I was touched by the way these surgeons were handling these bad nose cases,” Beigh recalls. “They assured me of a revision surgery in case the results of the first surgery weren’t satisfactory to me.” Life after this ‘nose job’ has changed for the better. The weightlifter is back on social media with pictures of his chiseled body and face.

“I have been going to the gym for the past 20 years. Gym-goers usually become conscious of their body shape, but my damaged nose was undoing all the work I had done on my body,” Beigh says.

“During any sports events, I felt reluctant to pose for a picture. I felt humiliated. It seemed my hard work of all those years had gone to waste. I even hesitated to take a selfie with cricketer Yusuf Pathan when he visited Kashmir earlier. But now, thanks to these surgeons, I am back in the zone.”

Kashmir’s known ENT specialist, Dr Shafqat Islam, who has performed about 2,500 surgeries in the past 10 years, says rhinoplasty is bringing back smiles on many faces. “During my decade-long practice, I’ve mostly seen patients coming for correcting nasal obstructions and trauma caused by accidents,” says Dr Shafqat, who heads the ENT department of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital (JLNM) in Srinagar.

“Since most of these nasal issues cast a shadow on one’s appearance, patients feel extremely happy after the correction surgery. And then, there’s this urge to look better and perfect now. It only makes rhinoplasty one of the busiest and fastest-growing surgeries in Kashmir.”

Dr Shafqat, along with other surgeons, spreads awareness among people in rural areas through regular workshops and consistent social media posts.

“We visit many villages and encourage people to avail the ENT help so that they can live their lives happily,” said Dr Irfan-ul-Shams, an ENT surgeon posted in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. “We try to reach the rural population, many of whom are not formally educated, through word of mouth,” says Dr Irfan-ul Shams.

“We often tell our patients to reach out to people with similar problems in their neighbourhood and inform them about the facilities available in the hospital. And many of them do this after they are satisfied with their own surgical procedures,” he adds.

However, there is more to ‘nose jobs’ than just improving one’s appearance.

Before surgery, the life of Dishanta was mostly confined to the four walls of her home. The 28-year-old was uncomfortable and reluctant to attend social functions due to her ‘de-shaped’ nose.

Besides hitting her self-confidence, she suffered frequent throat and nasal infections and acute breathlessness due to a nose blockage. The agony, however, ended when she met one of the ENT surgeons in 2017 and underwent rhinoplasty in the JLNM hospital.

“For many years, I avoided social gatherings. Even festivals and weddings,” says Dishanta. “I never felt confident enough. But now I love visiting relatives and friends and also attending functions. Life feels good. It’s like the world has suddenly become a better place for me.”