Liposuction No Longer the Most Popular Surgical Procedure

NEW YORK, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 10.2 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2008, according to statistics released today by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The Aesthetic Society, after collecting multi-specialty procedural statistics since 1997, says the overall number of cosmetic procedures has increased 162 percent since the collection of the statistics first began.

The most frequently performed nonsurgical procedure was Botox injections and the most popular surgical procedure was breast augmentation.

"For the first time in the twelve years these statistics have been collected, liposuction is a runner up in popularity to breast augmentation. There is no doubt that this turnabout will generate discussions in the medical community and the public at large," Alan Gold, MD, Aesthetic Society president, reflected. "Changes in fashion, i.e. decolletage baring styles, might be a factor behind this change."

TRENDS AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Top surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures among men and women in 2008:
Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Breast Augmentation: 355,671 Botox 2,464,123 Lipoplasty (liposuction) 341,144 Laser Hair Removal 1,280,964 Eyelid Surgery 195,104 Hyaluronic Acid 1,262,848 Rhinoplasty 152,434 (including Hylaform, Abdominoplasty 147,392 Juvederm, Perlane/Restylane) Chemical Peel 591,808 Laser Skin Resurfacing 570,880 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top cosmetic procedures for WOMEN:
Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Breast augmentation 355,671 Botox 2,239,024 Lipoplasty 309,692 Hyaluronic Acid 1,200,420 Eyelid surgery 166,426 (including Hylaform, Abdominoplasty 143,005 Juvederm, Perlane/Restylane) Breast Reduction 139,926 Laser Hair Removal 1,101,255 Chemical Peel 554,492 Laser Skin Resurfacing 532,008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Women had almost 92 percent of cosmetic procedures. The number of procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) performed on women was over 9.3 million, a decrease of over 11 percent from the previous year. Surgical procedures decreased 15 percent; nonsurgical procedures decreased by 11 percent. Since 1997, surgical procedures increased 104 percent, while nonsurgical procedures have increased 233 percent.

Top cosmetic procedures for MEN:
Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Liposuction 31,453 Botox injection 225,099 Rhinoplasty 30,174 Laser hair removal 179,708 Eyelid Surgery 28,678 Hyaluronic Acid 62,428 Gynecomastia 19,124 (including Hylaform, Hair transplantation 18,062 Juvederm, Perlane/Restylane) IPL laser treatment 46,887 Microdermabrasion 39,824 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Men had over 8 percent of cosmetic procedures. The number of procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) performed on men was over 800,000 a decrease of over 21 percent from the previous year. Surgical procedures decreased 18 percent; nonsurgical procedures decreased 22 percent. Since 1997, surgical procedures have decreased over 15 percent while nonsurgical procedures have increased 239 percent.

Frequency of cosmetic procedures by AGE GROUP: ________________________________________________________________________ % of Age # procedures Top surgical Top nonsurgical total procedure procedure ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 45% 35-50 4.6 million Liposuction Botox 26% 51-64 2.7 million Eyelid Surgery Botox 22% 19-34 2.2 million Breast augmentation Laser Hair Removal 6% 65 and over 634,667 Eyelid Surgery Botox 2% 18 and under 160,283 Rhinoplasty Laser Hair Removal

Racial and Ethnic Distribution

Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20 percent of all cosmetic procedures in 2008. Hispanics again led minority racial and ethnic groups in the number of procedures: Hispanics, 8 percent; African-Americans, 6 percent; Asians, 4 percent; and other non-Caucasians, 2 percent.

Location and Fees

Over fifty-three percent (53 percent) of cosmetic procedures in 2008 were performed in office-based facilities; 26 percent in freestanding surgicenters; and 19 percent in hospitals. Americans spent just under $12 billion on cosmetic procedures; $7.2 billion was for surgical procedures, and $4.6 billion was for nonsurgical procedures.

About the ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank

ASAPS, working with an independent research firm, compiled the 12-year national data for procedures performed 1997-2008. A paper-based questionnaire was mailed to 16,000 Board-Certified physicians (6,000 Dermatologists, 6,000 Otolaryngologists, and 4,000 Plastic Surgeons). A total of 894 completed and valid responses (461 Plastic Surgeons, 277 Dermatologists, and 156 Otolaryngologists) were received in time for tabulation.

Final figures have been projected to reflect nationwide statistics and are based exclusively on the Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons; Otolaryngologists; and Dermatologists. The findings have been aggregated and extrapolated to the known population of 23,600 physicians who are Board Certified in these specialties. Though the confidence intervals change by procedure, depending on the grouping's sample size and the response variance, the overall survey portion of this research has a standard error of +/- 3.21% at a 95% level of confidence.

SOURCE American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The 2400-member American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is the leading organization of plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) who specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face and body. Toll-free referral line: 1-888-ASAPS-11 (272-7711). Web site: www.surgery.org.