Over the last decade, demand for the cosmetic surgery has increased by more than 400 percent. According to Dr. Dai Davies, of the Plastic Surgery Partnership in Hammersmith, the majority of cosmetic surgery patients are not chasing physical perfection. Rather, they are driven to improve their appearance by a desire to look normal. “What we all crave is to look normal. The advertising media give us a perception(概念)of what is physically acceptable and we feel we must look like that.”

In America, the debate is no longer about whether surgery is normal; rather, it centres on what age people should be before going under the knife. New York surgeon Dr. Gerard Imber recommends “maintenance” work for people in their thirties. “The idea of waiting until one needs a heroic transformation is silly,” he says. “By then, you've wasted 20 great years of your life and allowed things to get out of hand.” Dr. Imber draws the line at operating on people who are under 18, however. “It seems that someone we don't consider old enough to order a drink shouldn't be considering plastic surgery.”

In the U. K. cosmetic surgery has long been seen as the exclusive domain(领土)of the very rich and famous. But the cost of treatment has fallen considerably, bringing all but the most advanced laser technology within the reach of most people. Dr. Davies says, “Of course, ￡3,000 for an operation is a lot of money. But it is also an investment for life which costs about half the price of a good family holiday.”

Dr. Davies suspects that the increasing sophistication(老练)of the fat injecting and removal techniques that allow patients to be treated with a local anesthetic(局部麻醉)in an afternoon has also helped promote the popularity of cosmetic surgery. One woman who recently paid ￡2,500 for liposuction(抽脂术)to remove fat from her thighs admitted, “Going into the clinic was so low key and effective that it whetted(刺激)my appetite. Now I don't think there's any operation that I would rule out having if I could afford it.”

Researchers have developed a material made of collagen protein (胶原蛋白) from pig’s skin, which resembles the human cornea (眼角膜) and restored vision to 20 people. The promising result of the trial brings hope to people suffering from corneal blindness.

An estimated 12.7 million people around the world are blind due to their corneas being damaged or diseased. Their only way of regaining vision is to receive a transplanted cornea from a human donor. But just one in 70 patients receives a cornea transplant. Furthermore, most of them live in low and middle-income countries in which access to treatments is very limited.

To avoid the above disadvantages of traditional cornea treatment, the researchers used collagen protein from pig’s skin. “It is possible to develop a biomaterial that meets all the criteria for being used as human implants (移植物), which can be mass-produced and reach more people with vision problems,” said Professor Neil Lagali. While donated corneas must be used within two weeks, the bioengineered corneas can be stored for up to two years before use. The pig skin used is a byproduct of the food industry, making it easy to access.

The researchers have also developed a new surgical method for treating the disease. No stitches (缝针) are needed with this new method. In a pilot study, 14 of the 20 participants were blind before the operation. After two years, all of the patients regained their sight. Three of the Indian participants who had been blind had perfect vision after the operation.

The researchers also want to study whether the technology can be used to treat more eye diseases, and whether the implant can be adapted to the individual for even greater effectiveness.