Thousands are risking their looks - and even their lives - as a growing number of cosmetic surgeons place profit before patient safety, experts have warned.

More than 35,000 people go under the knife every year in their quest to improve their appearance, and the industry is worth more than £1billion annually, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

But a recent undercover survey by Which? revealed widespread evidence that prospective clients are being subjected to hard-sell techniques, and concluded that sales targets are often taking precedence over integrity.

At risk? Experts warns profit is being put ahead of patient care with ‘cowboy’ surgeons sometimes putting lives at risk (file photograph)

BAAPS has also recently warned that lives are being put at risk by cowboy cosmetic clinics using irresponsible adverts to seduce women into having multiple operations at once, and raised

concerns about adverts encouraging false expectations of cosmetic surgery.

Douglas McGeorge, past president of BAAPS, said: ‘For some clinics, it’s all about getting people through the till, rather than patient care.’

The most recent figures from the Medical Defence Union, which provides insurance to doctors, show that over a tenyear period bungled cosmetic surgery operations and patient dissatisfaction resulted in claims against private surgeons amounting to £8.5million.

Personal injury lawyer Mike Saul said the rapid growth in the cosmetic surgery industry is responsible for problems that he sees on a daily basis.

‘What I am seeing is extremely frightening,’ he said at his Manchester office.

‘People are innocently booking in for surgery, believing it will transform their lives for the better, and they’re coming out maimed and disfigured, often for life.

‘The result of the boom is that a number of commercial clinics have sprung up, and are putting profit before patients, and commerce before ethics.

‘The result is that operations are being rushed to fit more patients in, which means mistakes are more likely to be made. The industry also suffers from inadequate regulation.’

He said the operation which most frequently results in claims for compensation is breast augmentation.

‘Our clients have experienced everything from asymmetry, nerve damage, inappropriate scars to cases in which breast implants have slid down from the breast and ended up over the stomach area,’ said Mr Saul.

‘I also frequently see significant injury - both physical and psychological - resulting from facelifts, eyelid work, tummy tucks, nose jobs and liposuction.’