Paul Freeman, originally from Birmingham, underwent the $3,000 operation at a clinic in California in November 1997 in an attempt to improve his physique.

Birmingham Coroner's Court heard how the 25-year-old died three days after the operation in which fat is sucked from the body through a fine tube inserted under the skin and attached to a vacuum pump.

A post mortem examination showed that Mr Freeman, who moved to the States from Harborne when he was 17, died at the San Francisco Memorial Hospital of blood poisoning triggered by the operation.

So dangerous

Following the hearing, Mr Freeman's mother Pauline said: "People think having liposuction is just like having a tooth out but it's not - it's so dangerous.

"I don't think we will ever get over this."

She and her husband Robert decided against taking action against the doctor who performed the operation following legal advice.

Birmingham Coroner Dr Richard Whittington said he was "horrified" by the treatment given to Mr Freeman, who was sent home just two hours after undergoing the three-hour operation.

"There was no opportunity to measure or monitor him post-operatively," said Dr Whittington.

Coroner's officer Alfred Taylor told the hearing that Mr Freeman suffered intolerable pain after the surgery.

A doctor was called out to him and he was given pain killers before being taken to hospital with septicaemia.

Patients should be closely observed

Dr Judy Evans, a consultant plastic surgeon based at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, said: "Liposuction is a surgical procedure just like any other operation and therefore there should be proper post-operative monitoring.

"In my practice I keep patients in hospital overnight for that reason. Their blood pressure is monitored and they are watched for pain or bleeding."

Dr Evans said routine liposuction took only one hour to complete, and the fact that Mr Freeman's operation had lasted three hours indicated either a large amount of fat had been removed, or that there were complications.

In either case, proper post-operative care was even more essential, she said.

Dr Evans said anybody considering liposuction should first contact their GP who would ensure referral to an appropriately qualified.