Tough economic times over the past couple of years have not hampered the plastic surgery industry, according to statistics released earlier this month by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The numbers indicate that 13.8 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures – including surgical and minimally invasive techniques – were performed in the US last year. This was an increase of 5% over 2010.
Top 5 Plastic Surgeries
- Breast augmentation (307,000 procedures, up 4%)
- Rhinoplasty (244,000 procedures, down 3%)
- Liposuction (205,000 procedures, up 1%)
- Blepharoplasty (196,000 procedures, down 6%)
- Facelift (119,000 procedures, up 5%)
Cosmetic surgeries increased 2 percent, with nearly 1.6 million procedures performed last year. Male chin augmentation skyrocketed 71 percent from 2010, with 21,000 procedures performed, while lip augmentation jumped 49 percent, with more than 25,000 procedures performed in 2011. Facelifts managed to bump abdominoplasty (tummy tuck surgery) from the bottom to place on the top 5 list for the first time ever.
Top 5 Minimally Invasive Procedures
- Botulinum toxin (5.7 million procedures, up 5%)
- Soft tissue fillers (1.9 million procedures, up 7%)
- Chemical peel (1.1 million procedures, down 3%)
- Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, up 15%)
- Microdermabrasion (900,000 procedures, up 9%)
Minimally invasive procedures continue to grow in popularity with a 6 percent increase and 12.2 million procedures in 2011. With their speed, effectiveness, and minimal discomfort, these procedures will likely continue to make inroads for many years.
“While the rate of economic recovery in the U.S. is still uncertain, 2011 proved to be a good year for plastic surgery,” says ASPS President Malcolm Z. Roth, M.D. “Consumer confidence was up, auto sales rose 10 percent, so it is not surprising that we would also see increased demand for plastic surgery procedures.”
