The number of people having liposuction treatments to remove fat has risen by 90 per cent in a year, prompting a warning from experts that it should not be seen as a solution for obesity.

The operation, which involves vacuuming fat from areas such as the thighs and abdomen, was the third most popular cosmetic procedure last year, after breast enlargement and eyelid surgery.

But the surgery is not without risks. Last year Denise Hendry, the wife of the former Scotland football captain Colin Hendry, accepted more than £100,000 in compensation after suffering complications during liposuction in 2002. She was in intensive care for nearly two months after sustaining nine punctures to her bowel and colon during a procedure. At one point her heart stopped for four minutes.

According to figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, at least 4,000 of the 90,000 cosmetic surgery operations carried out last year were liposuction procedures, compared with 2,100 in 2005.

Patients included men wanting to remove excess fat from their chests, often referred to as “man breasts”. Side-effects can include permanent scarring and loose skin, but Adam Searle, a consultant plastic surgeon and the association’s former president, said that the procedure was becoming more refined.

However, it should not be considered as an alternative to losing weight, he said. “There are lots of misconceptions. Every week someone comes into a clinic weighing 25 stone (159kg) and wanting liposuction. This technique is not appropriate for the obese.

“It should be reserved for very specific areas of fat in an otherwise fit person. The ideal candidate would be a woman who says, ‘I go to the gym, I have lost weight but this area on the side of my thigh refuses to go’.”

Members of the association carried out 28,921 plastic surgery procedures last year — up about one third on 2005.

The association said that the number of other plastic surgery procedures — such as breast and nose surgery — had also risen.

The figures show that antiageing procedures were also popular, with facelifts up 44 per cent on 2005, eyelid surgery up 48 per cent, and brow lifts up 50 per cent.

The vast majority of procedures — about 92 per cent — were carried out on women, 6,156 of whom had breast surgery. Nose surgery was most common in men, but they also had eyelid surgery, liposuction, altered their ears, and had face and neck lifts.

Louise Braham, the director of the Harley Medical Group, said that demand had increased in the past year. More professionals — including lawyers, teachers, estate agents and accountants — had opted for treatment, she said.

She said that “growth hotspots” included the use of botox — the number of procedures had risen 89 per cent in the past six months — breast reductions, which rose 85 per cent in the same time, and nose surgery, which rose 25 per cent.

Breast surgery and nose jobs cost from about £4,000 and liposuction is about £3,000. 6,156 breast enlargements took place in 2006

Kindest cut?

3,219 breast reductions

3,986 liposuction operations

2,743 tummy tucks

Source: British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons

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