The Plastic Surgeon in 2009 - Trends in a Difficult Year

For most business owners other than plastic surgeons, 2009 was a difficult year. With companies cutting costs and individuals sticking to a tighter budget, less products and services were purchased.

All industries saw significantly less profits during 2009. However, the cosmetic treatment industry only saw a decline of 2 percent with many different trends emerging.

Despite the global economic recession, the plastic surgery industry has only taken a two percent decrease since the beginning of 2009. This is an indication that Americans value their appearance and will find other ways to cut spending during difficult times. In 2008, there were approximately 10.3 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States. In 2009, that number dropped to 10 million.

2009 Trends

Women were found to have the most cosmetic surgeries performed (almost 90 percent). In 2009, the most popular surgical procedures performed by doctors for women were; breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty, breast reduction and liposuction. The most prevalent procedures for men were; liposuction, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, hair transplantation and breast reduction. Plastic surgery is commonly linked to an upper-class market that has the money for these procedures. However, with the release of different non-surgical procedures, many income levels can benefit from these services.

Origin of this Information

Every year since 1997, the ASPAS compiles an annual report of different procedures completed throughout the year. This information is pulled from cosmetic surgery national data bank statistics. Despite the decrease in total number of procedures performed by a plastic surgeon in 2009, cosmetic procedures have more than doubled in popularity.

Plastic Surgery Breakdown

Due to the continued popularity of cosmetic enhancement the top five breakdown of various types of procedures for 2009 include:

• Breast augmentation - 311,957
• Liposuction – 283,735
• Eyelid surgery – 149,943
• Rhinoplasty – 138,258
• Abdominoplasty – 127,923

The top five non-surgical cosmetic procedures include:

• Botox injections – 2,557,068
• Hyularonic acid – 1,313,038
• Laser hair removal – 1,280,031
• Microdermabrasion – 621,943
• Chemical peels – 529,285

Non-Surgical Treatments

It is no surprise that Botox injections were the most popular non-surgical treatment and top overall cosmetic procedure in 2009. This is a one percent increase from the previous year. One major trend is that consumers are in favor of non-surgical treatments involving less abrasive procedures. This is primarily due to the lower cost and less recovery time.

Other Treatments

Although butt augmentation didn’t make the top five list, it increased in 2009 by a whopping 37.3 percent! The butt lift procedure also increased 24.6 percent. Non-surgical procedures that rose in 2009 include Sculptra by 23.8 percent, microdermabrasion rose by 11.6 percent, laser resurfacing treatment increased 8.4 percent and skin-tightening saw an increase of 6.6 percent.

During the global recession, this billion dollar plastic surgeon industry only saw a 2 percent decrease from 2008 to 2009. This is proof that even when money is tight among all income levels, Americans are still willing to purchase plastic surgery enhancements. As the economy improves, cosmetic treatments and surgery will only continue to rise.

Article Tags: Plastic Surgeon, Plastic Surgery

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