Sadly, it is not a route Michael Jackson has decided to go down, but should he wish to restore some kind of normality to his face, he could visit one of the increasing number of cosmetic surgeons who specialise in what has become known as "undo-plasty". The demand for these procedures - revising botched jobs or looks that a patient is unhappy with - is increasing, with celebrities joining the queue.

Take Katie Price, who has steadily been dismantling her alter ego, Jordan. Just before Christmas, the glamour model had her breasts reduced from her previously well-known 32FFs, and her lips also looked somewhat deflated. Courtney Love, who has reportedly had a nose job corrected and her surgically enhanced lips reduced, wrote on her blog: "I just want the mouth God gave me."

While it seems ludicrous that people are having surgery to correct the unnecessary operations they had in the first place, it probably doesn't signify a backlash against surgery itself: more procedures were carried out last year than ever. What it does suggest is that more patients are disillusioned with the results of their surgery, and that more operations are going wrong.

A survey by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons found that 33% of surgeons had done "much more" repair work in the past five years, blaming the rise in cheap cosmetic surgery holidays. Rhinoplasty surgeon Julian Rowe-Jones estimates that more than a third of the procedures he carries out are corrective. "I have had [other surgeons'] patients come to me saying they wish they'd never had it done," he says.

Naresh Joshi specialises in eyelid surgery, and about 15% of his work involves correcting other surgeons' work, especially lids that can no longer close. "I think it's a teaching issue," he says. "People are doing surgery they are not familiar with. But redos are much more difficult than the primary operation. Less is more."

Better still, resist the urge to mess with nature in the first place.