A new survey commissioned for the medical website TreatmentAbroad.net has found that, in 2006, more than 50,000 Britons travelled abroad for lower cost medical treatments, with the most popular procedures including cosmetic surgery.

The survey, of 138 clinics, also showed that, last year, Britons spent a total of £161m (231m euro, US$328m) on medical tourism.

In terms of UK patients undergoing procedures abroad, the three most popular international destinations were revealed as Hungary, Turkey and India.

The most popular service was dentistry, with more than 20,000 Britons travelling abroad for dental work, spending around £2,500 (3,589 euro, US$5,094) each.

Second to dentistry was cosmetic surgery, with approximately 14,500 patients travelling outside the UK last year for a variety of procedures such as breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks.

Of these cosmetic surgery tourists, each spent around £3,500 (5,025 euro, US$7,132) and are creating an estimated market size in cosmetic surgery tourism which is in excess of £50m (71.8m euro, US$101.9m).