Big Behinds En Vogue in Germany

Blame it on J.Lo, said Herrman Solz, the chairman of annual meeting of the German Society of Plastic Surgeons, which took place this week. The Hollywood actress and singer Jennifer Lopez's well-publicized, biggish backside is causing women to think twice about their own smaller seats.

"Ever since she became famous, many German women want a bigger butt," he said, but declined to say how many women have chosen the way of surgery to get bigger bottoms so far.

But Albert Hofmann, the society's president, said the total number of plastic surgeries performed in Germany has gone up significantly over the last decade: While 300,000 Germans a year see a doctor to change their appearance, only 50,000 did so in 1994, he said.

Most operations are breast enlargements or liposuction, but more and more derrière augmentations are now being requested.

He cautioned those about to go under the knife in the quest for beauty to make sure that their surgeon knows what he or she is doing. "Up to now, any doctor in Germany can perform plastic surgery without being qualified to do so," he said. "Because of that, we see a lot of unnecessary complications."