Americans Spend More on Plastic Surgery

In 2011, Americans spent about $10.4 billion on cosmetic procedures, both surgical and non-invasive in nature.  And with that huge amount of money, the earnings of US aesthetic medical industry were more than the gross domestic product of a small country.

During the same period, the number of cosmetic surgery has increased to about 1.6 million or 2 percent from the previous year, while non-surgical and minimally invasive procedures such as Botox and dermal fillers hiked by 6 percent, or more than 12 million.

Overall, the number of cosmetic procedures increased by 5 percent since 2010.

Meanwhile, these are the top five most popular cosmetic surgeries in 2011, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS):

1.    Breast Augmentation

Despite the health scare involving the defective French-made breast implants, breast augmentation in the US has increased by 4 percent to 307,000 procedures (fortunately, the faulty devices were not sold in the country).

Leading Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Tarick Smaili has noticed that aside from the growing popularity of breast augmentation, patients are choosing smaller implants to achieve a more natural result.

“Gone are the days when the in thing was the Pamela Anderson look.  Now, many women simply want to add a moderate amount of volume in their chest to look naturally beautiful and avoid the operated look,” Smaili said.

2.     Rhinoplasty or Nose Reshaping Surgery

Last year, about 244,000 nose reshaping surgeries were conducted.  This procedure was the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery on male patients.

The techniques used in modern rhinoplasty differ from the previous decade.  For instance, plastic surgeons nowadays maintain an ample amount of cartilage to create long-lasting results and achieve a more natural appearance after surgery.

3.     Liposuction

Over the past several years, liposuction—or fat removal surgery—has been the most popular body contouring procedure.  However, patients should never treat this as a substitute to weight loss or healthy lifestyle because it can only remove the subcutaneous fats which are close to the skin and not the deeper visceral fats which are responsible for obesity-related illnesses.

4.    Eyelid surgery

With the aging baby boomers, it is not surprising that eyelid surgery is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries to date.  In this procedure, plastic surgeons remove the excess drooping skin around the eyes particularly in the upper eyelids which can lead to a tired, worn-out look.

In some cases, eyelid surgery is used to improve the peripheral view of a patient.

5.     Facelift surgery

About 119,000 facelifts were performed last year, up 5 percent due to the aging baby boomers.  And according to ASAPS data, 65 percent of patients aged 55 years and older asked for this surgery.