China's 'Michael Jackson' a cut ahead in surgery

Shi Sanba, 55 and herself a plastic surgeon, has had operations to smooth wrinkles, fold her eyelids, raise her nose, shape her chin, firm her chest, flatten her belly -- and more.

"I liked being pretty from childhood," Shi says.

She eagerly pointed out the improvements to her appearance in before and after photos from a pink gator-skin album, and offered to show suitcases more from home.

But Shi has faced the knife for more than physical perfection. The chain-smoking former Chinese opera performer has earned a fortune -- and renown -- running her own cosmetic surgery clinic in Beijing, with nearly 80 doctors and nurses.

"Since I am in this business, I have to continue to try different, new materials for plastic surgery so I can tell my clients first-hand information, such as how I feel when I have them inside my body," Shi said.

Thousands of plastic surgery clinics have mushroomed across China with the rise of an urban middle class on the back of booming economic growth, but Shi's profile and charisma has shot hers to the front.

A CUT ABOVE THE COMPETITION

Shi Sanba grew up in poor and landlocked central Henan province under Mao Zedong's austere and often dreary Communist rule, when plastic surgery was an unimaginable concept and feminine beauty frowned upon.

But "as the standard of living has risen, so has the definition of success," she said, adding competition for jobs has made good looks more important.

After getting divorced in 1984, Shi resolved to mend the facial flaws she said had hindered her and launched a new career.

She became a cosmetic surgeon herself for more than 10 years before opening her clinic in Beijing about a decade ago.

The clean white lobby at the clinic breathes narcissism. It is decorated with long mirrors, explanatory diagrams, flawless post-surgery portraits and a wax sculpture of Shi and two clients.

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