As the recession has gripped the U.S. economy in early 2008, plastic surgery certainly has not been spared. I get asked daily how the economy is affecting my practice. While most everyone’s plastic surgery practice is down in actual major surgeries, we now have numbers to tell us how much so.
According to the newest national procedural statistics report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in 2008, over 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed. This represents a drop of nearly 10% from 2007. Interestingly, however, two major plastic surgery categories actually increased. Minimally-invasive office procedures, such as Botox and injectable fillers actually rose 5%. Reconstructive plastic surgery procedures, those that are covered by insurance, were slightly more than the previous year.
Other highlights from the 2008 National Plastic Surgery Statistics include:
- Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures: Breast augmentation (307,000; 12% decline), Nose reshaping (279,000; 2% decline), Liposuction (245,000; 19% decline), Eyelid surgery (221,000; 8% decline), Tummy tuck (122,000; 18% decline)
- Top 5 Cosmetic Non-Surgical Procedures: Botox (5 million; 8% increase), injectable fillers (1.1 million; 6% increase), chemical peels (1 million; 2% increase), laser hair removal (892,000; 2% decline), microdermabrasion (842,000; 6% decline)
This flip-flop of surgery vs. non-surgical cosmetic procedures is not surprising. As people put off major surgery due to work-related and cash flow concerns, more people are substituting less expensive but effective cosmetic procedures that will not interfere with work. There remains a strong desire to not only look good, but to do so to be competitive in the workplace. These office-based procedures will serve as a bridge to eventually getting actual surgical procedures when the recession ends.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana