The couple, who live in affluent Pimlico in central London, say the operations have not been purely cosmetic and point out that Georgia's speech and breathing have improved.

Was in denial after birth

Ms Gallagher, who says she had trouble accepting Georgia when she was first born and did not want to see her, says she wants to protect her daughter from teasing and taunts when she gets older.

She told the Daily Mail: "We live in a society that judges people by the way they look.

"Society is not going to change overnight so Georgia has to fit into society rather than society fitting into the way she is."

Ms Gallagher said some doctors had resisted her attempts to change her daughter's appearance but others had been very "positive".

Further operations a possibility

She said her daughter had not actually been taunted by other children but said she believed it might have happened later in childhood.

As for further cosmetic surgery, she says they are not ruling it out.

Carol Boyes from the Down's Syndrome Association: "We don't believe Down's children suffer."

The Down's Syndrome Association, which champions the rights of people with Down's syndrome, says it fully supports the right of adults to choose plastic surgery.

'Why hide her condition?'

But Carol Boyes, director of the association, said: "We are very sad that they feel the need to change their faces in an attempt to hide the fact that they have Down's syndrome.

"While we will always support them, we do question why parents decide to subject their young children to cosmetic surgery with all the discomfort and risk that any form of surgery entails.

"What message are parents giving to their child in showing that they would like to hide their child's disability?"

Ms Boyes said: "Society must learn to accept people with Down's syndrome for what they are - people who happen to have Down's syndrome. Giving in to prejudice and ignorance by hiding the outward signs of the disability is no solution."