As the Iraq begins to feel the first signs of calm, nose jobs, Botox and liposuction are all the rage.

Al-Sahan, one of Baghdad’s premier plastic surgeons, said he averages about 20 cosmetic surgeries a week – 70 per cent on women. During the height of the fighting, reconstructive surgery for the wounded made up the bulk of his practice, but now most of it is cosmetics unrelated to the war, he said.

Surgeons say patients rarely raise the religious question or demand a particular gender of surgeon.