Cosmetic procedures and esthetic surgeries are a growing industry in India due to its relatively high cost-benefit ratio in the medical industry. It serves as a holiday hub and is the largest growing regional market in Asia for medical tourism. Considering the nonnecessity nature of cosmetic procedures for therapeutic purposes, the role of informed consent becomes exponentially higher as clients often have unrealistic expectations from these therapies, and hence it becomes the duty of a clinician to educate them about the benefits, expected outcomes, risks, and complications arising as a result of the procedure. This narrative review of 98 articles published between 2000 and 2025 highlights what cosmetic procedures are available in India along-with most commonly performed procedures, the importance of informed consent, qualification of the professionals, related studies, legal bindings, and Government regulations for these procedures.
Saini et al. (Wed,) studied this question.