UK — Lest anyone confuse them with plastic surgeons in the Los Angeles area, recent statements from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) should serve to make the distinction clear. During the group’s annual conference, a number of negative observations about their industry peers’ promotional habits mere made, including criticisms of “anatomically impossible” breasts that they contend are being used to lure women into clinics.According to BAAPS, digitally enhanced photos of top heavy models living the dolce vita in tiny bikinis inspire “unrealistic expectations” in prospective clients and should be illegal.

Additionally, the organization pointed out that “lunch-time face-lifts” may start during an employee’s lunch hour, but certainly aren’t safely completed during one and therefore should not be advertised as such. Likewise, the group contends that deep discounts up to $465 for those who sign up for surgery quickly puts pressure on potential patients and should also be banned.

Nearly a third of cosmetic surgeons in the UK are represented by BAAPS, but it has no regulatory powers. Nonetheless, its members have an active and first-person interest in the rapidly growing multimillion pound industry.

During yesterday’s annual conference in Chester, the group introduced its anti hard-sell advertising campaign, which it hopes will prompt consumers to check their surgeon’s credentials before going under the knife.

The Independent quotes association president Douglas McGeorge as explaining that “BAAPS has been increasingly concerned about the standard and style of today’s cosmetic surgery advertising. Surgery is a serious undertaking, which requires realistic expectations and should only proceed after proper consultation with a properly qualified clinician in an appropriate clinical setting.”

In order to illustrate his concerns, McGeorge turned to a West One Cosmetic Clinic in London at, which featured a bikini clad woman with a slim waist and narrow hips – but disproportionably large breasts. “If you look closely,” he observed, “it is abnormal. It gives a completely false presentation of what can be done and sets unrealistic expectations. If a woman with that figure had that body, we know she would have to engage in years of corrective surgery.”

The number of breast augmentation surgeries has risen nearly 400-percent during the past five years, with more than 27,000 procedures being performed during 2007, with fewer complications than those throughout Europe. BAAPS members are particularly concerned about the number of teenaged women they believe are making snap decisions about cosmetic surgery based on magazine advertising images.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons also cautioned against overseas travel for cheap surgeries, with association president-elect Nigel Mercer telling the story of a patient who spent a total of $1,200 to fly to Thailand and undergo a breast implant operation. The total cost included airfare, surgery, and accommodations – but ultimately cost more upon return when corrective surgery proved necessary. Mercer told of another patient whose foreign facelift had drawn the skin so tightly across her face that there was no way to undo the damage.