Global plastic surgery statistics recently released by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery suggest that last year, U.S. plastic surgeons performed more surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures than plastic surgeons in any other country.
In 2009, plastic surgeons in the U.S., Brazil and China performed more than 1 million procedures each, with U.S. plastic surgeons topping the charts at more than 3 million total surgical and non-surgical procedures performed.
Several hundred thousand procedures were also performed by plastic surgeons in India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, however they made up a much smaller percentage of the total plastic surgery procedures performed worldwide in 2009.
Body contouring plastic surgery, including liposuction, breast augmentation, breast reduction and tummy tuck procedures were among the most popular surgical procedures last year in both the U.S. and the entire world. Facial plastic surgery procedures, such as nose surgery and eyelid surgery, were also frequently performed by plastic surgeons internationally.
Only three cosmetic procedures addressed by ISAPS statistics in the surgical and non-surgical categories were performed in excess of 1 million times in 2009. In the surgical category, these procedures included:
In the non-surgical category, these procedures included:
- Wrinkle-relaxing injectables (e.g. Botox and Dysport)
- Hyaluronic acid fillers (e.g. Restylane and Juvederm)
- Laser hair removal
Non-surgical procedures were so popular in the U.S. last year that unlike plastic surgeons in most other countries, U.S. plastic surgeons actually performed more non-surgical procedures than surgical procedures in 2009. Other popular non-surgical procedures that were frequently performed by plastic surgeons last year included laser skin rejuvenation, as well as sclerotherapy and laser vein treatment.
Although ISAPS statistics suggest that plastic surgeons most frequently perform non-surgical injectable and laser treatments, their primary areas of expertise are generally breast surgery, body contouring, facial plastic surgery and revision surgery. Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Bob Basu is a breast reconstruction and body sculpting expert.