A nip and tuck is all it takes

Feb 1 2007 by Emma Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

More of us than ever are going under the knife to fix our faces and figures. Emma Johnson reports

COSMETIC surgery has long since stopped being the privilege of the rich and famous.
 
While we may wince at some of the extreme operations performed on television's Nip/Tuck, these days people happily brag about their breast enlargement or botox injections, and most of us know someone who has had a session with the scalpel.
 
According to statistics released this week, a whopping 28,921 plastic surgery procedures were carried out by BAAPS surgeons (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) in 2006 - up around a third on the figure for 2005.
 
But, according to the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (who represent two-thirds of the cosmetic surgery market), the total number of operations carried out by all UK plastic surgeons could actually be much higher - as many as 90,000.
 
Top of the pile for the wannabe beautiful people is bigger breasts, with 6,156 enlargements carried out last year by BAAPS surgeons. But the biggest rise in the last 12 months has been in the number of patients asking for liposuction.
 
It has jumped from being the eighth most popular procedure to the third, just behind eyelid surgery.
 
"Judging by the dramatic rise in certain procedures, it is clear we are becoming a more body-image conscious society," says Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS council member.

"However, it is important to note that liposuction and tummy tucks are not a treatment for weight management or obesity: they are body contouring procedures for patients near or already at their ideal body weight."
 
At the Medispa Clinic, in Adlington, Cheshire, liposuction - which involves removing unwanted fat from areas of the body (commonly the thighs, hips and tummy) is the second most requested procedure.