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Over the last decade, demand for the most common cosmetic surgery procedures, like breast enlargement and nose jobs, has increased by more than 400 percent. According to Dr. Dui Davies, of the Plastic Surgery Partnership in Hammersmith, the majority of cosmetic surgery patients are not chasing physical perfection. Rather, they are driven to fantastic lengths to improve their appearance by a desire to look normal. "What we all long for is to look normal, and being normal is what is prescribed by the advertising media and other external pressures. They give us perception of what is physically acceptable and we feel we must look like that."
In America, the debate is no longer about whether surgery is normal; rather, it centers on what age people should be before going under the knife. New York surgeon Dr. Gerard Imberre commends "maintenance" work for people in their thirties. "The idea that waiting until one needs a heroic transformation is silly, "he says. "By then, you’ve wasted 20 great years of your life and al- lowed things to get out of hand. "Dr. Imberre draws the line at operating on people who are under 18, however, "It seems that someone we don’t consider old enough to order a drink shouldn’t be considering plastic surgery.
In the UK cosmetic surgery has long been seen as the exclusive domain of the very rich and famous. But the proportional cost of treatment has fallen substantially, bringing all but the most advanced laser technology within the reach of most people. Dr. Davie, who claims to "eater for the average person", agrees. He says: "I treat a few of the rich and famous and an awful lot of secretaries. Of course, ￡3,000 for an operation is a lot of money. But it is also an investment for life which costs about half the price of a good family holiday."
Dr. Davies suspects that the increasing sophistication of the fat injecting and removal techniques that allow patients to be treated with a local anesthetic in an afternoon has also helped promote the popularity of cosmetic surgery. Yet, as one woman who recently paid ￡ 2,500 for an operation to remove cellulite from her thighs admitted, the slope to becoming a cosmetic surgery veteran is a deceptively gentle one. "I had my legs done because they’d been bugging me for years. But going into the clinic stimulated my appetite. Now I don’t think there’s any operation that I would rule out having if I could afford it."

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