American firefighter gets Bruce Willis's jaw in Indian hospital

U.S. firefighter John Joseph Conway always admired actor Bruce Willis' manly jawline and now, after three hours in surgery, he has it.

The 43-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, is recuperating from the procedure in a New Delhi hospital, news reports said Sunday.

"I'm a firefighter. I need to look the part. I wanted to improve my jawline. Bruce Willis has a nice strong jaw," he told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Over the last few years, thousands of American and European medical tourists have trooped to Indian hospitals looking mainly for tummy tucks and face lifts, but several hospitals are also gaining reputations for big-ticket procedures such as heart surgery, knee and back operations.

The firefighter, who traveled to India in 2005 for an eyelid surgery, e-mailed the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the Indian capital saying that he was "a man who jumps into burning buildings, people in the community look up to him and he needed to maintain his macho image," Dr. Vivek Kumar, one of the surgeons who performed the operation told the newspaper.

Conway said he was "very satisfied" with the procedure, which cost him US$1,600 (euro1,240) , a fraction of what it would have cost in the United States.

He said that that he plans to bring his 63-year-old mother for a US$1,500 (euro1,162) facelift and his sister, 40, will follow. All three procedures which would have cost around US$40,000 (euro31,000) in the U.S. will cost Conway about US$4,600 (euro3,565) in India.