The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has released details regarding the sorts of procedures that patients underwent in 2005, giving an indication of what's hot and what's not in cosmetic surgery. All up, a mind-boggling 10.2 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2005. This represents an increase of 11 percent over 2004, and doesn't include more than 5.4 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures. "For many, cosmetic plastic surgery is the new take on 'growing old gracefully'. The statistics show that in a solid economy, more Americans are willing to invest in anti-aging remedies such as cosmetic plastic surgery," enthused ASPS President, Bruce Cunningham.
The figures show that surgical cosmetic procedures increased 4 percent, with around 1.8 million procedures performed. The top five most popular surgical procedures were:
- Liposuction - 18 percent
- Nose reshaping - 16 percent
- Breast enlargement - 16 percent
- Eyelid surgery - 13 percent
- Tummy tuck - 8 percent
Interestingly, 2005 was the first time that facelifts did not make the top five surgical procedures. "The facelift is still a highly sought after procedure, nearly 109,000 were performed last year," said Dr. Cunningham. "However, the fact it didn't make the top five surgical procedures can be attributed to increased consumer demand for minimally-invasive injectable wrinkle fillers and fighters as a remedy to combat facial aging." So-called minimally-invasive procedures jumped 13 percent to nearly 8.5 million procedures performed in 2005. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were:
- Botox - 45 percent
- Chemical peel - 12 percent
- Microdermabrasion - 10 percent
- Laser hair removal - 9 percent
- Sclerotherapy - 7 percent
Radical new procedures such as vaginal rejuvenation, pectoral implants and buttock implants barely rated a mention, despite wide exposure in the media. "The reality is quite different from the hype," said Dr. Cunnungham. "These trendy new procedures that are supposedly all the rage around the country, simply are not being performed in large numbers. We haven't seen rampant interest in these procedures in our practices and now the statistics show how few of these procedures are actually being performed. That's not to say that these procedures may not increase in popularity in the future, but right now, they are not as popular as they have been portrayed in the media," he added.
For those interested, only 793 vaginal rejuvenation procedures were performed (making up less than a half of a tenth of a percent). Buttock implant procedures were only performed 542 times and pectoral implants only 206 times.
Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons
