A little over a decade ago, Dr. Kim Hyung-tae, 48, was your standard otolaryngologist, or a doctor specializing in ear, nose and throat.

Now he is being touted as the best in a highly specialized area -- voice feminization surgery, which he developed while treating anemic patients at Catholic University Hospital in Seoul.

Initially devised as a way to combat the voice-deepening side effects of treating anemic female patients, voice feminization surgery is becoming increasingly sought after by transsexuals from overseas who fly in to specifically to receive this treatment, reported Joongang Ilbo today.

Kim runs Yeson Voice Center, the first Korean medical clinic to specialize in voice care and surgery, and has performed voice feminization surgery on 130 transgender patients since 2003.

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As the procedure does not involve surgically cutting muscles with a knife, the surgery is said to be relatively simple and involves tying the vocal band with a string to shorten its length.

"Among Thai transsexuals, Dr. Kim is regarded as the best," one Thai patient told Joongang Ilbo. The patient had been a contestant in a Chiang Mai transsexual beauty pageant, but subsequently flew to Korea for surgery having heard about Dr. Kim.

Other areas

Apart from the extremely specialized voice feminization surgery, Yeson Center also treats various vocal ailments of patients who use their voices professionally, including singers and actors. A significant number of patients who come in for treatment in these other aread are also from overseas.

"We have about 100 foreign patients per year, and each year the numbers have been increasing," Yeson Center's Manager of Global Health Department Miji Lee told CNNGo. "Since this is such a specialized field, our actual numbers are not as high as they are in other medical areas."

At the center, four translators are on hand to provide language services in English, Japanese, Russian and Chinese, and it is clear from the stylish multi-language website and savvy public relations department that overseas marketing is important to the cutting-edge center.

"We use Google Adwords," said Lee about their overseas marketing strategy. "Around 90 percent of our foreign patients discover us that way."

So how about a surgery that can help bad singers carry a tune?

"We do treat singers who have throat problems," said Lee. "But there is no surgery available that can help a bad singer become good. Your singing voice is something you are born with."

Yeson Voice Center, Gangnam-gu Sinsa-dong 638-13, Ssangbong Building 2/F (강남구 신사동 638-13 2층); +82 2 3444 0559; www.yesonvc.net

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