Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)

How it works: This is designed to tuck away unsightly rolls of skin. A large incision is made from hip bone to hip bone, then the skin is lifted up. 'It's rather like going under the bedsheets,' says Professor Sharpe. The fat underneath is cut out all the way up to the ribs, around the tummy button. Then the loosened skin is pulled tight, so that the piece of skin that was next to your tummy button before moves down to where your pubic hairline was. Finally, the extra skin is discarded. Before that's done though, though, you tighten up the muscles by pleating the fascia, or fibrous tissue, over the muscles to tighten up the abdominal wall.

Effects and side effects: 'Risks include a long scar across the stomach, numbness of the tummy wall and a five per cent chance of infection,' says Sharpe.