Plastic surgery boom

Cosmetic surgery is more popular than ever in the UK

More Britons are turning to the knife in search of the body beautiful, a new report has revealed.

Plastic surgery is becoming increasingly popular with a 50% increase in the number of operations carried out over the past five years, according to the report in She magazine.

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While men are demanding bigger breasts for their partners, women want their husbands and boyfriends to fight the flab with liposuction, the magazine claims.

Last year the nation spent £158.6m on cosmetic surgery, with breast enlargement topping the table as the most popular operation.

Liposuction, nose jobs, eye-bag removal and facelifts follow in a list of the five most sought after procedures.

The report reveals the facts behind Britain's increasing obsession with appearance and includes "shocking" before and after photographs of operations.

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Each year, the report claims, 65,000 cosmetic surgery operations are carried out in the UK.

And surgeons are used to getting all kinds of requests - one American woman wanted her gums reduced so they did not show when she smiled, while another wanted her nipples to stick out permanently.

Breast enlargement is by far the most popular operation, not just in the UK but also in France, Germany and Sweden, while beach-crazy Brazilians opt for bottom implants.