"I'm very afraid, but ready for it," said the 25-year-old at a prominent cosmetic surgery clinic in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

"I want to have a beautiful sharp nose because I'm not satisfied with my Cambodian big nose."

Despite the global economic downturn, health experts say the business of cosmetic surgery in Cambodia has doubled, or even tripled in recent years.

Davy Ariya, the owner of a clinic in the capital, says clients include wealthy Cambodians as well as "medical tourists" from the US, France and Australia.

"They mostly come for nose jobs, silicon implants, breast enlargements and scar revisions," Ariya said.

A nose job usually takes less than half an hour at Ariya's clinic and costs 280 to 600 dollars, depending on the quality of materials used in the operation.

Breast enlargements cost 1,500 to 1,700 dollars, a bargain compared to many countries even if it's nearly three times the average annual Cambodian income.

"Although it is seen as frivolous, the upsurge in the number of customers who come to me shows cosmetic surgery has become acceptable to Cambodian society," Ariya said.