The following article was published in 2006 for the Guardian UKPublications.

Changing the face of cosmetic surgery, Brazil leads the plastic revolution. For decades Brazil has been considered a thriving centre for cosmetic surgery, and it is now at the heart of a growing wave of surgery tourism, with foreigners jetting in for a few days on the cutting board and a week or two recuperation on the beach. After the United States, home to 5,000 registered cosmetic surgeons, Brazil comes in a close second, with around 4,000.

In Copacabana, one of the world's most famous beaches, hundreds of stylishly dressed physicians crane their necks up at two cinema screens. Welcome to what organizers have described as the biggest cosmetic surgery event in history. With about 2,400 surgeons from nearly 80 different countries in attendance, the biannual reunion of the International Society of Aesthetic Surgery, which ended this weekend, is the multibillion-pound industry of cosmetic surgery today. This biannual convention was held in Rio de Janeiro in August 7, 2006.

It is a mega-industry here, as the stream of BMWs and Mercedes which poured into the conference all week testifies. Its guest of honor, Brazil's superstar surgeon Ivo Pitanguy "the man who meant you no longer had to whisper about plastic surgery," boasts his own island off the Rio coast. Exact figures are hard to come by, with doctors at the conference reluctant to talk about how much the Brazilian market is worth. Americans spent around $12.4bn (£6.5bn) on plastic surgery in 2005, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; doctors here say Brazil is not far behind.

The mentality of the Brazilian people ... is a very open kind of mentality compared with that of the Europeans. Brazilians have a much greater ease in seeking out plastic surgery," he said. "It is a tropical country, where people enjoy exposing their bodies. This helps stimulate people to have surgery." Brazil's medical legislation has also paid a considerable part, he says. Silicone breast implants, outlawed in the US for 10 years, have been part of Brazilian life since 1993. This has, in effect, given Brazilian surgeons a 10-year head start.