Male Cosmetic Surgery on the Rise

Male cosmetic surgery in on the rise. It seems men are becoming just as interested as women in their appearances, beauty regimes and cosmetic surgery. Inspired by sportsmen such as the Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, the number of men having laser hair removal has almost doubled in the past 12 months at one national cosmetic surgery chain. Botox is also becoming a fast favourite among men thanks to the likes of Simon Cowell and David Hasselhoff admitting to using it.

But why is this trend on the rise. Well you only have to look at the likes of men's magazines like Men's Health to feel intimidated by the perfect pecks and six pack staring you in face. Also take a look at the latest Armani underwear adverts, starring David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo - enough said!

Plastic surgeons are reporting a record number of "man boob" reduction operations as the rise in demand outstrips that for all other procedures, including women's breast enlargement.

Figures published by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPs) showed operations to correct gynecomastia in men grew by 80%, while overall male cosmetic surgery grew by 21%.

The association's audit reveals 581 male breast reduction operations were performed by members in 2009, up from 323 in 2008. Five years ago, just 22 gynecomastia operations were performed on men. The association represents one in three plastic surgeons, so the UK total is likely to be more than 1,000 operations.

We're certainly not at US levels though. Overall, 36,482 procedures were done by association members for men and women in 2009, compared to 34,187 in 2008, a rise of 6.7%. Women accounted for 32,859, a rise of 5%. The audit reported 8,537 female breast augmentation operations.