A Russian plastic surgeon has developed breast implants emblazoned with the colors of the country's flag after sanctions hit imports

• A Russian plastic surgeon has designed breast implants printed with colors of the country's flag.
• Russia, which imports almost all of its breast implants, is seeing a supply crunch.

As Russia faces a breast-implant supply crunch on the back of Western sanctions, one Russian plastic surgeon has developed a prototype for implants emblazoned with the colors of the country's national flag. If that's too much for you, they're also available in a camo print.

Most breast implants in Russia are imported, with 60% coming from the US and another 13% from Germany, the AFP reported, citing industry estimates. Breast implants in the country are now about 20% more expensive than they were before Russia invaded Ukraine and was slapped with sweeping sanctions, the news agency reported, citing plastic surgeon Evgeny Dobreikin.

The shortage inspired Dobreikin to design the patriotic implants, which he calls "RosGrud," or "Russian Breasts." He's currently looking for an overseas supplier for the implants, according to the AFP.

The implants are for those who want to wear the patriotic symbols "close to their hearts," Dobreikin said in a May Telegram post. They also offer "a stylish solution for those who love their Motherland and want to have something more than just a sticker on a car or a tattoo on their shoulder," he said in a video posted on the platform in which he showed off "experimental models" of the implants.

He added that the colored coating on the implants is "absolutely safe" and has passed all necessary tests.

Russia came in ninth in a 2020 worldwide ranking of countries according to the number of aesthetic procedures performed, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. About 10% of the 621,600 aesthetic procedures performed that year were for breast augmentation, according to the data. The US topped the ranking with 4.7 million procedures.

Botox, lip filler supplies are also drying up

It's not just breast implants. Stocks of Botox and lip fillers are drying up too, according to the AFP.

"In March, we saw a panic among patients, doctors, and suppliers," Oksana Vlasova, the director of development at Grandmed beauty clinic, told the news agency. "The demand exploded, the stocks of Botox were emptying."

Imports of the wrinkle-smoothing drug dried up completely in April and May, said Nikolay Bespalov of RNC Pharma, an information and data provider, per the AFP.

Clinics were ready to switch to homegrown wrinkle-reduction drugs, with local factories ramping up production by 70% from January to April to cope with demand, Russia's Kommersant news outlet reported last month.

The medical industry in Russia is bracing for supply shortages to worsen in the months ahead due to sanctions.

"In a few months, the shortages of medical equipment in Russia, 80% of which is imported from abroad, will be critical," Alexander Saversky, the president of the League of Patient Advocates, told the AFP.