"I believe at least some of this upward trend may be attributable to increased media coverage of plastic surgery in 2004," says ASAPS President Peter Fodor, MD, of Los Angeles . "People have had many more opportunities to see, first hand, what plastic surgery is like and what it can do for others. That can be a strong incentive for them to seek the same benefits by having cosmetic procedures themselves."

TRENDS AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Top surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures among ALL AMERICANS in 2004:

Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures

Liposuction 478,251 Botox 2,837,346

Breast augmentation 334,052 Laser hair removal 1,411,899

Eyelid surgery 290,343 Chemical peel 1,110,401

Rhinoplasty 166,187 Microdermabrasion 1,098,316

Facelift 157,061 Hyaluronic acid

(Hylaform, Restylane) 882,469

Top cosmetic procedures for WOMEN:

Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures

Liposuction 416,614 Botox 2,525,430

Breast augmentation 334,052 Laser hair removal 1,215,052

Eyelid surgery 249,293 Microdermabrasion 999,095

Tummy Tuck 145,315 Chemical peel 977,277

Facelift 145,240 Hyaluronic acid

(Hylaform, Restylane) 838,917

Women had 90 percent of cosmetic procedures. The number of procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) performed on women was nearly 10.7 million, an increase of 49 percent from the previous year. Surgical procedures increased 21 percent; nonsurgical procedures increased 57 percent.

Top cosmetic procedures for MEN:

Surgical # procedures Nonsurgical # procedures

Liposuction 61,638 Botox injection 311,916

Eyelid surgery 41,050 Laser hair removal 196,847

Rhinoplasty 38,989 Chemical peel 133,124

Male breast reduction 19,636 Microdermabrasion 99,221

Hair transplantation 19,503 Laser skin resurfacing 69,427

Men had 10 percent of cosmetic procedures. The number of procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) performed on men was nearly 1.2 million, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year. Surgical procedures decreased 11 percent; nonsurgical procedures increased 15 percent.

Frequency of cosmetic procedures by AGE GROUP:

Age % of total # procedures Top surgical procedure Top nonsurgical procedure

35-50 45% 5.3 million liposuction Botox

51-64 25% 2.9 million eyelid surgery Botox

19-34 22% 2.6 million liposuction laser hair removal

65 and over 6% 749,607 eyelid surgery Botox

18 and under 2% 240,682 rhinoplasty laser hair removal

Racial and Ethnic Distribution

Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20 percent of all cosmetic procedures in 2004. Hispanics again led minority racial and ethnic groups in the number of procedures: Hispanics, 8.5 percent; African-Americans, 6.2 percent; Asians, 4.6 percent; and other non-Caucasians, 1.1 percent.

Gender

American men had nearly 1.2 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures in 2004, 10 percent of the 11.9 million cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S. last year. According to ASAPS, the number of cosmetic procedures performed on men has increased 306 percent from 1997 to 2004. Compared to last year, the number of procedures for men increased by 8 percent. The overall increase was attributable to men's growing interest in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures . Nonsurgical procedures increased by 15 percent, while surgical procedures decreased by 11 percent.

Teenage Breast Augmentation

The number of breast enlargements for women age 18 and under decreased 63 percent in 2004 compared with the previous year, in 2003 there were 11,326 breast enlargement procedures on women 18 and under, representing 4 percent of the total number of breast augmentations; in 2004 there were 4,211 procedures, just over 1 percent of the total. ASAPS data also show that, in 2004, 60 percent of breast implant procedures performed on women 18 and under were for breast abnormalities including Poland's syndrome (congenital absent breast), severe breast asymmetry, congenital micromastia (severe underdevelopment of the breast) and tubular breast. In treating these conditions, implants may be inserted in one or both breasts. Forty percent, or an estimated 1,684 procedures, were for purely cosmetic augmentation of both breasts.

Location and Fees

Just over forty-six percent (46.4 percent) of cosmetic procedures in 2004 were performed in office-based facilities; 29.1 percent in freestanding surgicenters; and 24.4 percent in hospitals. Americans spent just under $12.5 billion on cosmetic procedures; $7.7 billion was for surgical procedures, and $4.7 billion was for nonsurgical procedures.

About the ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank

ASAPS, working with an independent research firm, compiled 8-year data for procedures performed 1997-2004 by multiple specialists, including but not limited to plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. More than 14,000 questionnaires were mailed nationwide, and r esults of the survey were used to project national data. The survey data has a standard error of +/- 3.63 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

The 2200-member American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is the only plastic surgery organization devoted entirely to the advancement of cosmetic surgery. ASAPS is recognized throughout the world as the authoritative source for cosmetic surgery education. U.S. members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Canadian members are certified in plastic surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Toll-free referral line: 888.ASAPS.11 (272.7711). Web site: www.surgery.org

© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com