Al-Babtain Center for Burns and Plastic Surgery on Tuesday launched an online cosmetic service offering fast medical counselling on cosmetic surgeries for citizens and expats in Kuwait. The service aims to enhance awareness about cosmetic surgeries and their availability at the public and private health facilities, Director of the center Dr. Jamal Abdulqader told reporters. "The Center, an affiliate of Ibn Sina Hospital, will open a clinic at the hospital and pages on Facebook and twitter social networking websites to offer cosmetic counselling to patients," he said. "The Ministry of Health plans to increase the number of Center's operation rooms to eight and double the number of clinics and bed capacity, in addition to launching a lab for providing skin cells to burns patients," Dr. Abdulqader pointed out. "The Ministry will open cosmetic clinics at its hospitals in consultation with directors of these hospitals and the concerned health directorates," he said, noting that this service has already been introduced to Al-Farwaniya and Al-Jahra hospital for the convenience of patients. Dr. Abdulqader added that the Center has developed a Kuwaiti medical board program for burns and plastic surgery and a high diploma for the treatment of burns in collaboration with international celebrated colleges. "Two Kuwaiti doctors in the specializations of general practice, orthopedics and Otolaryngology are admitted each year to the four-year board program," he said, noting that training in the program includes three years in Kuwait and one year at a Canadian or US college. "After passing the final exam of the program, doctors get a certificate equal to a doctorate," he noted. The Center is developing an information network on burns and plastic surgery with a view to linking all data about patients at public and private health institutions in coordination with the Central Statistical Bureau and the Health Ministry's information system, he went on. Dr. Abdulqader noted that the Center treated a total of 30,098 patients and callers in 2013, including 19,279 first-time patients and 10,819 callers who seek bandages for their burns and injuries. The Center conducted 1,778 cosmetic surgeries last year and reported 10 deaths, he said, noting that the fatality rate was reduced by a half compared to the previous year thanks to the efforts of the Center's medical staff