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Cosmetic Procedural Statistics 2011 from the American Society of Aesthetic Surgery

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NEW YORK, NY (March 20, 2012) – The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) today released their 15thannual multi-specialty procedural statistics. The Aesthetic Society, which has collectedplastic surgery procedural statistics since 1997, says the overall number of cosmetic procedures has increased 197 percent since the tracking of the statistics first began. Almost 9.2 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2011. The most frequently performed surgical procedure was lipoplasty (liposuction) and the most popular nonsurgical procedure was injections of Botulinum Toxin Type A (including Botox and Dysport).

“For fifteen years these statistics have been a large part of the Aesthetic Society’s public education mission,” said Jeffrey M. Kenkel, MD, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. “Since 1997, the interest in and demand for cosmetic plastic surgery has risen exponentially and our comprehensive statistics continue to show that.”

Cosmetic surgical procedures increased almost 1 percent in the past year, with over 1.6 million procedures in 2011. Surgical procedures accounted for 18% of the total numbers of procedure performed representing 63% of total expenditures.  The top five surgical procedures were:

Cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures performed one of the surveyed physicians decreased almost 2 percent, with over 7.5 million procedures in 2011. Nonsurgical procedures accounted for 82% of the total number of procedures performed representing 37% of total expenditures.  The top five minimally-invasive procedures were:

  • Botulinum Toxin Type A (2,619,739 procedures)
  • Hyaluronic acid (1,206,186 procedures);
  • Laser Hair Removal (919,802 procedures)
  • Microdermabrasion (499,427 procedures)
  • IPL Laser Treatment (439,161 procedures)

For the first time ever this survey asked the doctors for the total number of non-surgical procedures being performed in their practices by BOTH physicians and their physician assistants and nurse injectors. Below is the TOTAL number of procedures performed in the practices surveyed:

“Growth in demand will likely coninue to grow as  baby boomers and their offspring begin to explore surgical options,” said Dr. Kenkel. “Minimally-invasive procedures such as Botox and soft tissue fillerswork to a point. However, as you age and gravity takes over, surgical procedures that lift the skin and reshape the underlying tissues are necessary in order to show significant improvement.”

Women had almost 8.4 million cosmetic procedures, 91% of the total. The number of cosmetic proceduresfor women increased over 208% from 1997. The top five surgical procedures for women were: breast augmentationliposuctiontummy tuckeyelid surgery, and breast lift.

Men had almost 800,000 cosmetic procedures, 9% of the total. The number of cosmetic procedures for men increased over 121% from 1997. The top five surgical procedures for men were: liposuction,rhinoplastyeyelid surgerybreast reduction to treat enlarged male breast, andfacelift.

Americans spent nearly $10 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2011. Of that total $6.2 billion was spent on surgical procedures; $1.7 billion was spent on injectable procedures; $1.6 billion was spent on skin rejuvenation procedures; and over $360 million was spent on other nonsurgical procedures, includinglaser hair removal and laser treatment of leg veins.

The Aesthetic Society partnered with RealSelf, the most visited online community for learning about and sharing information and results for medical-beauty treatments, to get information on patients’ first-hand experience with procedures.  The RealSelf ‘Worth It Rating’ printed in the statistics report reflects the combined opinions of thousands of RealSelf community members. Each member shares whether an elective surgery or treatment was “worth it” all things considered.

About the ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank

ASAPS, working with an independent research firm, compiled the 15-year national data for procedures performed 1997-2011. A paper-based questionnaire was mailed to 22,700 Board-Certified physicians (8,900 Dermatologists, 8,100 Otolaryngologists, and 5,700 Plastic Surgeons). A second request was mailed to 4,000 Dermatologists and 4,000 Otolaryngologists.  An online version of the questionnaire was also available. A total of 1,107 physicians returned questionnaires, of which 92 were retired or otherwise inactive during 2011. Of the 1,015 active respondents, the sample consisted of 420 Plastic Surgeons, 384 Dermatologists, and 211 Otolaryngologists.

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 24,650 active 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% at a 95% level of confidence.