Forget nose jobs and and facelifts. They are still, of course, part of the plastic surgery repertoire, but they are just the start. Now every part of the body can be 'improved', as if it were a non-stop work-in-progress. Britons are having thighs sucked and stomachs trimmed in record numbers and delving into areas once considered off limits. Thin calves, loose labias, long toes and protruding navels...

Most new patients for cosmetic treatments and surgery are young professionals. People in their twenties and thirties are either more self-indulgent than their parents or just more comfortable spending serious money on their appearance. They no longer bat a false eyelash at luxury wrinkle creams costing £300, or Botox shots for £400 a pop, so it's only a short jump, the theory goes, to spending a grand on toe shortening.

Or quite a few grand more on 'body contouring', the fashionable phrase for describing a substantial reshaping. 'In recent years there have been great advances in body contouring,' says Dr Barry M. Jones. 'Liposuction (or liposculpture) has evolved into a "custom made" operation, often combined with structural fat-grafting to reproduce youthful contours. It is often desirable, and more convenient, for patients to combine more than one procedure in a single operation.'

In Britain, 75,000 cosmetic surgery operations are performed every year, according to Bupa, and the Botox boom has been influential as a first step into cosmetic surgery. Some 50,000 Botox injections were given in Britain last year, and another 30,000 Restylane treatments were done to fill out lips and lines. One of the latest in a laundry list of new areas to be Botoxed is the tip of the nose - a few units placed strategically under the nose can release the ligament that pulls your nose down, eliminating that southward-pointed sinister expression.

The US offers some pointers to the new fixes. Consider the popularity of primetime television programme Extreme Makeover which offers viewers a full body overhaul. The producers take an average-looking man or woman and revamp them from head to toe. The website proclaims: 'These men and women are given a truly Cinderella-like experience in which their wishes come true, not just to change their looks, but their lives and destinies.' The price tag tops £100,000.

But if all your body is perfectible, where do you stop? Ethical debates are well-rehearsed. One camp argues that the growth in plastic surgery brings with it increased neuroses. The standard riposte: if a few hours of surgery can have a huge impact on somebody's self-confidence, why fret?

Practicalities are easier to pronounce on. Choosing a qualified surgeon is the most important step. According to the Medical Defence Union, more than £7 million in compensation has been paid out for cosmetic surgery mistakes over the past 13 years. With this in mind, here is Body Uncovered's guide to the state of the art, from new procedures undreamed of only a few years ago to the latest refinements on the old favourites.

Titanium or bust

Move over silicone. Poly Implants Prostheses, a French firm, has introduced a breast implant coated with biocompatible titanium to reduce the risk of the body rejecting foreign material - although it might be hard to explain if you set off the metal detectors at Heathrow.

Fill 'em up, please

Next on the horizon is a new form of hyaluronic acid gel, thicker than the kind that goes into your lips and creases. It's called Macrolane (Q-Med), and will be injected into breast tissue to augment the bust. It's a few years off yet but early results are promising, according to Consultant Surgeon Per Heden of Academikliniken.

Lipo breast reduction

If they are made up of more fat than gland, liposuction alone can now be used to reduce your 38 EE's down to a voluptuous 36C. Liposuction is also sometimes used to remove excess fat from the armpit area at the same time. A few small puncture marks are all it takes to remove the excess fatty tissue instead of the long, permanent scars resulting from traditional breast reduction. Although it doesn't work for large melon-shaped mammaries, lipo-only breast reduction is catching on as a less invasive alternative for a lucky few.

Pecs appeal

No matter how hard men pump iron, well defined pectoral muscle mass is hard to come by, which is why silicone implants are increasingly being used to enlarge the bulk and projection of the pectoral muscles. Some men suffer from gynecomastia, a condition that gives them 'breasts' thanks to an excess of skin, fat and gland. This can now be treated by removing fat and/or glandular tissue, resulting in a flatter, firmer chest.

Hands-on treatment

With modern techniques your hands can match your newly lifted face and neck. Unsightly bulging veins can be injected with sclerotherapy solutions to minimise them, and fat taken from the bottom or hips recycled to plump up shrivelling skin. A new technology works by heating the underlying layers of the skin by delivering radio frequency energy while protecting the skin's top layer with a cooling spray. The result is collagen contraction - a sort of hand-lift. Intense pulsed light treatments and chemical peeling solutions can be used to rid hands of brown spots and telltale signs of summering in Marbella. This system, called Thermage or Thermacool in some circles, can also be used on droopy brows and lip lines.

Body sculpting

By following the body's natural curves using micro-sized instruments, a cosmetic surgeon/sculptor can create svelte silhouettes with the next generation of hi-tech devices. The Vaser System (Sound Surgical Technologies) generates sound energy similar to that used for cataract removal in the eyes. Vaser Body Sculpting is a gentler variation of liposuction that produces high intensity, short bursts of energy, to vaporise fat cells. It promises to be practically painlessly and patients should be back in action within days.

The J-Lo rear

Flat bottoms can be enhanced with an implant to add volume and curves. The implants, specifically designed for this area of the body, are placed just above the sitting area so you never actually put weight on them. Alternatively, fat can be sucked out from hips and thighs and injected back into the bottom. These techniques are more popular in South America and South Beach where a full backside is a highly prized commodity.

The Britney belly button

For women in search of an 'inny', an umbilicoplasty may be the answer. Britney Spears's belly-baring low-riders have made inward-facing navels the new accessory, and some women are even willing to go under the knife to get their own.

Lower-body lift

This works like a facelift for the body. It is also known as 'the cellulite lift' because it stretches out the skin to flatten out those dimples and lumpy orange peel spots that have been known to reduce grown women to tears. It has the effect, all in one go, of pulling up the slack bits of skin of the hips, stretching out the upper thighs and stomach area.

The toe job

Pretty, uniform, proportional toes are a must-have accessory among Jimmy Choo-wearing women. Second and third toes that poke out beyond the big toe can be shortened, and crooked fourth and fifth toes can be straightened out. Cosmetic toe surgery involves making small incisions, cutting a piece of bone out of the joint and reattaching the tendon.

Skin tightening

According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, more than 63,000 weight loss surgeries were performed last year. This can leave rolls of skin as your body deflates like a balloon. Robert Bernard, president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, explains: 'Weight fluctuations mean that excess skin can become loose and flabby so more than one stage of surgical correction, including tummy tucks, body lifts, arm lifts and breast lifts, may be required.'

Vagina monologues

'Vaginal vanity surgeries' are growing in popularity, but there are some major risks. Women who feel self-conscious about their labia majora (outer lips) or labia minora (inner lips) - perhaps after stretching during childbirth - can have a 'vaginoplasty' to give them the tidy private parts of a Playboy centrefold. The 'labiaplasty' can restore a sagging vulva to pre-childbirth status. The labia are recontoured, excess tissue is removed, and your own fat can be sucked out of your hips and injected to plump up your lips. Potential benefits include heightened pleasure for both partners and prolonged orgasms, and a customised size and shape. A laser is used to improve tone, put a stop to stress incontinence, and decrease the diameter.

Puppetry of the penis

There are two ways to make the penis bigger. The first involves lengthening it by releasing the ligaments which attach the penis to the pelvis. The second is injecting fat suctioned from some other body part, usually the stomach or love handles. But make sure your surgeon has very steady hands.

· Wendy Lewis is an independent cosmetic surgery consultant who works in the US and UK