Breast Augmentation, Eye Lid Surgery and Facelifts Top the List:
When looking back at 2013, and comparing last year’s plastic surgery statistics to those of 2012, I’m not surprised to see that the procedures that remain among the most popular (and that are also increasing in numbers), are breast augmentations, blepharoplasties (eye lid surgery), and facelifts.
There’s no doubt about it, breast augmentation remains number one in popularity. But, according to the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons), it only realized a 1% increase over the last year. There may be a number of reasons for this slight increase, among them, the overall economy of last year, which really didn’t turn around till mid-year. Also, since breast augmentation surgery has been growing in numbers for so many years, it may be that the number of available candidates is leveling out. Still, 290,000 women had breast augmentation last year and it continues to have one of the highest satisfaction ratings.
Blepharoplasty, or eyelid rejuvenation, had a 6% increase over the last year. There is no question that facial rejuvenation of all kinds is rising primarily because baby boomers are coming of age and the procedures we perform today are with less down time and have fewer complications. Eyelid rejuvenation may also be more popular because the extra skin and soft tissue deformities that come with the aging process are difficult to treat with non-surgical fillers and BOTOX®.
Facelifts, or rhytidectomies, are seeing a rise in numbers for many of the same reasons as listed above. The facelifts we do today are not your grandparent’s, or even your parent’s, facelifts of yesteryear. The procedures are shorter, with less incisions, and much quicker recovery times. While injectable fillers do a great job of replenishing lost soft tissue volume, and laser skin treatments can improve the overall quality of the facial skin, there are limitations on their ability to compete with gravity. Nothing lifts a face and neck like a surgical rhytidectomy can.
