This is due to the stem cells enabling the fat to grow its own blood supply and therefore becoming an integral part of the breast.

Dozens of women in Japan have received the breast enlargements during trials. Recent trials in Germany mean that the procedure is now legal throughout the European Union, including the UK.

“I’m newly convinced,” said Venkat Ramakrishnan, a specialist in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust. “A lot more people have to use it and prove it, but it does seem to have something to it.”

As well as cosmetic breast enlargements, the procedure can also be used for rebuilding breasts after cancer surgery and to treat facial disfigurements.

“Scientists and doctors are starting to believe that the best clues to curing and improving our bodies are inside our bodies in the form of stem cells,” said Cynthia Fox, author of Cell of Cells, a new book about the current craze for stem cell technology.

“Breast augmentation is cosmetic but these cells have the potential to treat diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s.”