Deciding you fancy a "nip" here, or a "tuck" there, that your teeth should be whiter than white, or that you want to remove the embarrassing Adam Ant tattoo you had done at 14 - has never been easier or cheaper.

Thousands flock to private hospitals and clinics every year to have small operations and non-surgical treatments, which help wave goodbye to pesky wrinkles and unwelcome varicose veins or which promise a Tom Cruise-like smile.

Cosmetic surgery has been booming in the UK for the past decade. Britons spend around £200m a year on a range of "improvements" -400% higher than 10 years ago.

Less easy to quantify, but very much a part of this trend, is the demand for non-cosmetic operations such as laser eye surgery or vasectomies, which people are increasingly prepared to pay for privately.

Healthcare analysts Laing and Buisson say trying to separate purely cosmetic procedures such as face lifts from smaller, non-essential operations motivated by reasons other than vanity, is "murky" because figures illustrating the size of the market are difficult to pin down.

Private healthcare prov-iders say that there is a definite trend towards picking and choosing what procedures to take and when.

Depending on whether the type of surgery is cosmetic or not, the reasons people pay privately for procedures vary.

Not surprisingly, people are prepared to pay large sums of their own money for cosmetic surgery for aesthetic reasons, says Bupa. Increasing social acceptability - fuelled largely by their use by celebrities - has taken away much of the stigma it previously had.

People choose to pay for their own small and often, non-essential surgery, primarily because it means they can protect their privacy and it is convenient, a Bupa spokeswoman says. The company adds that there is no indication that people do it because of waiting times on the NHS, but rather that they decide, "I want this," and "I want this now," and simply go out and get it.

"I think for many things, such as vasectomies, for example, it is a personal decision and this is the main reason people go to private hospitals and pay for it them-selves," the spokeswoman says.

A few operations can be paid for under private insurance, but only if a GP has deemed the treatment as medically necessary.

Norwich Union says: "We would take a decision once we have considered recommendations from medical experts, but the 'Pay-as-you-go' trend is different. The market that has been expanding - if you can call it that - is where people are contacting hospitals directly, arranging surgery, and paying for it in a lump sum."

According to Bupa, "self-pay'" - where individuals pay up to £10,000 for procedures on demand - has grown throughout their hospitals.

The surge in demand for cosmetic surgery has not only helped multiply the number of places people can have operations, it has driven down the cost, making many smaller procedures affordable to a broader constituency of people. Clinics say that patients sometimes pay in cash or take out a loan enabling them to spread the cost or have the work done sooner.

Once an individual has decided what they want, they can look up the hospitals or clinics in their area which offer the treatment and compare prices and service. The patient can sometimes state which consultant they want if the the timing is right.

It is advisable to look at all aspects of what a clinic or hospital offers, however. Some provide a "fixed-price" service, whereby everything to do with your treatment is included in the cost.

Bupa suggests that potential patients should take care to confirm exactly what is covered in the quoted price.

The Centre for Sight, which specialises in laser eye surgery, and has seen demand rise by 50% in the past 12 months across its three UK clinics, advises would-be patients to be sure what they are paying for.

With increasing numbers of people willing to pay for cosmetic surgery, knowing exactly what you're handing your cash over for - and to whom - has never been more important.

What you will pay

Cataract removal £1,700 - £3,500

Varicose vein treatment £1,250 - £2,000

Vasectomy £250 - £900

Laser eye surgery £500-£1,500 per eye

Wisdom teeth extraction £450 - £1,400

Breast enlargement £2,000 - £6,000

Breast reduction £2,800 - £6,000

Ear pinning (pinnaplasty) £1,000 - £2,800

Facelift £3,100 - £8,000

Nose reshaping £1,900 - £4,000

Tummy tuck £2,700 - £5,600

Botox injections £150+ per visit

Hernia treatment £1,200 - £1,800

Knee arthroscopy £1,300 - £2,500