Would you go under the knife?
Despite the current financial climate the number of cosmetic procedures carried out in the USA increased by nearly 9% during 2010 according to figures released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) this month.
Leading English Surgeon Professor Laurence Kirwan MD, FRCS, FACS – who has clinics in Harley Street and New York and is a member of ASAPS – is among the 2600 board-certified plastic surgeons consulted to compile the figures.
“The most frequently performed surgical procedures were breast augmentations and the most popular nonsurgical procedure were injections of Botulinum Toxin Type A,” said Professor Kirwan.
“It has been shown scientifically that not only does cosmetic surgery improve your self confidence and self-esteem but it can actually extend and improve the quality of your life,” he said.
The ASPS released their 14th annual cosmetic plastic surgery statistics this month and since they collected their first multi-specialty procedural statistics in1997 the demand for cosmetic procedures has increased by 155%.
Cosmetic surgical procedures increased almost 9 percent, with over 1.6 million procedures in 2010. Surgical procedures accounted for 17% of the total numbers of procedure performed representing 61% of total expenditures. The top five surgical procedures were: breast augmentation, liposuction, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty and breast reduction.
Cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures decreased almost 9 percent, with nearly 8 million procedures in 2010. Nonsurgical procedures accounted for 83% of the total number of procedures performed representing 39% of total expenditures. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were: Botulinum Toxin Type A, Hyaluronic Acid, laser hair removal, laser skin resurfacing, and chemical peels.
ASAPS, founded in 1967, is the world’s leading organization for cosmetic surgery education and research with members in the U.S., Canada and 32 other countries.
More than 22,000 questionnaires were mailed nationwide in the USA to a random sampling of board-certified doctors in three specialties most likely to perform several or more of the 34 top cosmetic procedures. Results of the survey were used to project national data on the number of cosmetic procedures in 2010, which totaled nearly 9.4 million. This figure is a 155 percent increase since the collection of the statistics first began in 1997.
“In the modern era, cosmetic surgery is safe, affordable and it works. If it was a dismal failure it would be an intellectual footnote: not the subject of so much of our advertising and media. It is surprising how pervasive it has become, not only in the semi-nude culture of the decadent West but also in Islamic countries. Behind the Burqa there is an avid consumer of cosmetic surgery. In Tehran (Iran), nose-jobs are one of the most common procedures. Post-op patients stroll around in public with plaster-casts on their noses,” said Professor Kirwan.
Tagged in Health Cosmetic Surgery