As questions continue to abound about a U.S. economy that has had at best a weak recovery, what has this meant for plastic surgeons? While every plastic surgery practice is different, the annual statistics provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons provides some insight. In statistics released today, nearly 14 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2011. This is up 5% from the numbers of 2010. These numbers include cosmetic procedures that consisted of both surgery and non-surgery. This is nearly triple the number of reconstructive plastic surgery operations performed last year. (around 5 million)

Cosmetic plastic surgery increased 2% with nearly 1.6 million procedures performed, a number which shows that major surgery is only about 10% of all cosmetic procedures done today. The top five cosmetic procedures included breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, liposuction, blepharoplasty and facelift. Interestingly facelift surgery displaced tummy tucks from the top five procedures, perhaps indicative of an aging population. The report also pointed out that chin augmentation, primarily a male-dominated procedure, nearly doubled in numbers from 2010. In regards to a female-dominated procedure, lip augmentation also rose appreciably being up nearly 50% from last year.

While actual cosmetic surgery numbers are up, the main driver of overall cosmetic plastic surgery is minimally-invasive treatments. These comprise nearly 90% of these numbers with over 12 million procedures done in 2011. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were Botox, injectable fillers, chemical peels, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion. While Botox injections were up, bigger increases were seen in injectable fillers. This has been driven by the larger number of available filler products and the emergence of injectable fat grafting.

Despite a persistently weak economy, cosmetic plastic surgery has continued to grow albeit slowly. This would point to an old adage that people can afford what they want, not necessarily what they need. To no surprise, non-surgical procedures continue to dominate cosmetic treatment numbers. They are quick and easy to perform and are far more affordable. Injectable facial rejuvenation, facial skin refreshing and unsightly face and body hair removal are desires of a large number of age ranges.

One interesting observation on these numbers, which has always been true and is increasingly so, is the ratio of cosmetic to reconstructive plastic surgery procedures. While one may perceive that cosmetic procedures dominate plastic surgery, they do not. This is a common misconception due to advertising and media attention which report extensively on cosmetic surgery stories. But the numbers show that plastic surgery is about 80% reconstructive surgery and 20% cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Tags: dr barry eppley, indianapolis, plastic surgery statistics, plasticsurgery procedures

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