"You have to use the electric scalpel and make a shaky incision on purpose, because palm lines are never completely straight.
"If you don't burn the skin and just use a plain scalpel, the lines don't form. It's not a difficult surgery, but it has to be done right."
The procedure usually takes 10 to 15 minutes and can include between 5 to 10 lines being on the palm being altered.
Some patients use a marker pen to show the surgeon which lines they want extending prior to surgery.
It takes around a month for the wounds to heal and for the new palm lines to form.
Most of the patients are thirty-something men and women who have a predilection for fortune-telling.
Whilst men want their money line or success line extending, women want their love/marriage line lengthening.
Some women don't even have a marriage line and believe that because of this, they won't find love.
Others do have a marriage line but seek another one because they believe their first one appeared too early and they missed their chance.
But does it work?
Dr Matsuoka gave one woman a wedding line and soon after she wrote to him saying she had married.
Two other patients won the lottery after he extended their fortune lines.
Despite these success stories, Dr Matsuoka isn't, however, sure how effective the surgery really is and believes there may be a placebo effect.
"If people think they'll be lucky, sometimes they become lucky. And it's not like the palm lines are really written in stone - they're basically wrinkles," he says.
He explains that lines do change with time and even the way people use their hands can change them.
Some palmisters reportedly suggest that their clients who don't want to undergo the surgery can draw the lines on their hands themselves to change their fortune.
Subodh Gupta, a London-based palm reader, says the surgery is futile.
"I read about this surgery and I was very surprised.
"Even by having surgery, the lines cannot be changed.
"If you want to improve your fortune, take physical actions. So if you want greater health, do some exercise.
"I have seen people's health lines change after six months of yoga."
Dr Yannis Alexandrides, founder, director and head of practice and surgical at a London clinic, issued a strong warning about the procedure.
"It is possible to have complications from this type of surgery such as infection and painful neuromas which can create a source of irritation.
"The placebo effect could positively change somebody's attitude but it is not enough to justify unnecessary surgical intervention.
"Try a lucky charm maybe."
Graphic: www.nzherald.co.nz
- DAILY MAIL
