A Statistics 2006

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures in 2006

Up 7% – 11 Million Procedures

Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at 5.2 Million Procedures, ASPS Reports

Nearly 11 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2006, up 7 percent from 2005, according to statistics released today by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). In addition, more than 5.2 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were performed last year.

“Cosmetic plastic surgery is a good barometer of the local and national economy,” said ASPS President Roxanne Guy, MD. “The increase in cosmetic plastic surgery procedures mirrors the strong economy, low unemployment levels, and high consumer confidence of 2006.”

Surgical cosmetic procedures increased 2 percent, with more than 1.8 million procedures performed in 2006. The top five surgical procedures were breast augmentation (329,000), nose reshaping (307,000), liposuction (303,000), eyelid surgery (233,000), and tummy tuck (146,000). For the first time, breast augmentation is the most popular surgical procedure since the ASPS began collecting statistics in 1992.

“Breast augmentation has always been among the top five surgical procedures, but until now has never been number one,” said Dr. Guy. “With the return of silicone breast implants to the U.S. market, it is likely the number of breast augmentations will continue to increase. Some women prefer the look and feel of silicone implants and were waiting for the FDA to make its decision.”

Minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures jumped 8 percent to more than 9.1 million procedures in 2006. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were Botox® (4.1 million), chemical peel (1.1 million), laser hair removal (887,000), microdermabrasion (817,000), and hyaluronic acid fillers (778,000). Hyaluronic acid fillers (Restylane®, Hylaform® and Hylaform Plus®) debuted in the top five, bumping out sclerotherapy (treatment of spider veins) which had been among the top five minimally-invasive procedures for the previous three years.

“Botox continues to dominate the injectables market, while hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane have increased 59 percent – more than any other minimally-invasive cosmetic procedure,” said Dr. Guy. “When it comes to the war on aging, Americans are clearly looking to injectables to help win the battle.”

Reconstructive plastic surgery, which improves function and appearance to abnormal structures, decreased 3 percent in 2006. The top five reconstructive procedures were tumor removal (3.9 million), laceration repair (313,000), scar revision (165,000), hand surgery (156,000) and breast reduction (104,000).

“ASPS attributes the decrease in reconstructive procedures to health insurance crises in the U.S.,” said Dr. Guy. “More reconstructive patients are being denied coverage or cannot afford the co-payment.”