Cosmetic Surgery goes mainstream in UK

Katie Price (Credit: wikipedia)

Trudie Styler, wife of pop star Sting, recently revealed that she has had some work done and British glamour girl Jordan - real name Katie Price - has announced that she will be going under the knife for a fourth time. She has a cosmetic surgery operation scheduled for later this year, when she will undergo breast augmentation once again.

The model and mother of three told Reveal magazine this week that she feels her breasts have suffered after having children and she wants to restore them to all their former glory.

For many people cosmetic surgery is becoming something that they choose for reasons that are often purely aesthetic. A popular method is to go abroad for their procedures, which has led to Britons spending more than £161 million a year on medical tourism. In 2006 alone, more than 50,000 British adults went abroad for treatment, of whom many were going for cosmetic surgery, a survey by specialist website Treatment Abroad found.

Of course, even though it is cheaper to go abroad, the money still has to come from somewhere and it seems savings are a popular way of facilitating operations. A recent Abbey survey found that more than 200,000 Britons are currently either saving money towards an operation or considering using their existing savings to pay for one.

In a positive picture of savings overall, the survey found that around 14 million Britons have saved a cumulative total of £49 billion towards a rainy day. The average amount saved per person was £3,500, although in general it was older savers that tended to have the most set aside.