This article also appeared in the Basildon Recorder , Braintree and Witham Times, Brentwood Weekly News, Harwich and Manningtree Standard, Maldon and Burnham Standard, Southend Standard, Thurrock Gazette and Essex County Standard.

PEOPLE looking for a quick-fix to their image hang-ups should think twice before rushing into surgery, according to a leading doctor.

Dr Venkat Ramakrishnan, consultant plastic surgeon at Westcliff’s BMI Private Hospital, said interest in confidence-boosting procedures has soared since the start of January.

There has been a huge increase in the number of people inquiring about cosmetic surgery at the hospital, with men wanting to get rid of their “man boobs”.

Dr Ramakrishnan said: “We feel it is important to remind people that having cosmetic surgery is a very serious, life-changing decision and one which should not be rushed or taken lightly.

“Women and men should not let their eagerness for change overpower their ability to make a responsible choice about their surgeon and hospital.”

Man boobs, or gynecomastia, is a relatively common condition among teenage boys and involves the abnormal growth of breast tissue, which usually disappears once a normal hormone balance has been re-established.

However, the condition sometimes continues into adulthood, and can be caused by steroid use.

Dr Ramakrishnan said more and more men are resorting to operations to cure the problem and some do not do enough research about the surgeons they choose.

Last year, a Channel 4 series, called the Ugly Face of Beauty, carried out an experiment in Southend to expose people’s naivety.

Setting up a fake walk-in clinic in the High Street, the programme demonstrated how special offers and sales patter can encourage people to sign up for surgery packages without asking key questions.

Surgery to correct gynecomastia is available on the NHS if patients are not overweight and past puberty.

A spokeswoman for NHS South East Essex said: “We would always ask the patient’s GP to first rule out other conditions that might look like gynecomastia, such as liver abnormality or breast and testicular cancer.”

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