Breast Surgeries Top List of Most Popular Cosmetic Surgery Procedures
For women, our breasts are one of our most noticeable physical characteristics, the one that most defines us as women, and the part of our body that seems to receive the most attention from men! It should come as no surprise that breast surgeries topped the list of most popular cosmetic surgeries for women in 2010. According to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast implants, breast lifts and breast reduction procedures led all other cosmetic surgery procedures last year.
Once considered a scandalous procedure sought primarily by self-absorbed Hollywood starlets, breast augmentation today is accepted as a positive way to improve the appearance and contour of the female form. Over the past decade, breast enhancement surgeries have increased by 40% in the U.S. The total number of cosmetic surgery procedures performed in the U.S. last year increased by 5% over 2009 figures. In 2010, 13.1 million cosmetic procedures were performed, 11.6 million of them noninvasive treatments like Botox cosmetics. Data indicate that women are the primary users of cosmetic surgery, although the number of men undergoing cosmetic surgery procedures is on the rise.
With women making up 90% of cosmetic surgery patients, it’s no wonder breast-shaping procedures are the No. 1 cosmetic surgery procedure in America. While breast implant augmentation is still the leading cosmetic breast procedure -- 296,203 performed in 2010 – breast-lift surgeries (90,000) rose by 70%. Cleveland cosmetic surgeons say age and weight loss are the two things driving the increase in breast lifts. A breast lift, rather than augmenting cup size, lifts dropping breasts grown pendulous with age (gravity catches up with us all!), giving them a perkier, more youthful shape. Many women have breast lifts to bring their breasts back in alignment with the darts in feminine clothing so that clothes fit better.