San Antonio Cosmetic SurgeryPlastic Surgery On the Rise Despite Struggling Economy

Despite a precarious American economy and ongoing uncertainty about our nation's future, the plastic surgery industry has continued to grow, according to statistics released earlier this month by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). According to these figures, 13.8 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures (which include both surgical and minimally invasive techniques) were performed in the United States last year. This constituted a 5% rise over 2010.

Top 5 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. The biggest stories of the year were:

• male chin augmentation: jumped 71 percent from 2010 with 21,000 procedures performed
• lip augmentation: which jumped 49 percent with more than 25,000 procedures performed
• facelifts: pushed abdominoplasty (tummy tuck surgery) from the bottom spot to reach the top 5 list for the first time

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 continued their dramatic rise with a 6 percent increase and 12.2 million procedures last year. These methods – quick, highly effective, and relatively pain-free – have caught on among many Americans and will likely experience growing popularity for many years.

Reconstructive plastic surgery also experienced a 5 percent rise, with tumor removal, laceration repair, maxillofacial surgery, scar revision, and hand surgery retaining their places on the Top 5. Breast reconstruction procedures grew by 3 percent.

“While the rate of economic recovery in the U.S. is still uncertain, 2011 proved to be a good year for plastic surgery,” ASPS President Malcolm Z. Roth, M.D. said in a press release. “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.” Learn more at San Antonio Cosmetic Surgery.