Millions go under the knife

France: From US "Botox parties" to Asia's craze for eyelid jobs or Brazilian bum lifts, millions now reshape their bodies through cosmetic surgery each year.

But the booming industry is battling a Wild West of rogue practices, cruelly highlighted by the French breast implant scandal.

Until the 1990s, "there was a veil of secrecy around cosmetic procedures," says Sander Gilman, psychiatry professor at Emory University in the United States, and author of several books on cosmetic surgery.

In the 21st century world, you can fly to Turkey or India for a cut-price breast job, sign up for a surgical full-body makeover on reality TV, or curl up in front of an episode of the hit plastic surgery-themed series "Nip/Tuck".

AFP