What are the Most Popular Plastic Surgeries in America?
Breast augmentation surgery still tops the charts as the most popular cosmetic surgery in the U.S., according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Despite the perennial popularity of breast augmentation, the society’s newly released 2011 annual report shows that more Americans are choosing minimally invasive cosmetic procedures such as Botox and fillers over surgical procedures. While the number of surgical cosmetic procedures declined somewhat last year, non-invasive cosmetic procedures increased more than 120%.
In 2011, nearly 14 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the U.S., double the number performed in 2000. However, the number of surgical procedures performed today is not quite half the number performed a decade ago: 1 in 9 in 2011, compared to 1 in 5 in 2000. Today, nearly 90% of the cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S. are non-invasive, with Botox leading the pack. Last year, Americans received nearly 5 million botulinum toxin type A (Botox and Dysport) treatments. By comparison, only 1.9 million treatments of hyaluronic acid (Restylane and Perlane), the second most popular injectable, were administered.
The popularity of non-invasive cosmetic treatments appears to be driven by their significantly less expensive cost, non-existent down time, and near-immediate results, even though those results are not permanent. Botox and fillers typically last only 3 to 12 months; however they typically cost only $376 compared to the $3,694 average cost of a typical surgical procedure.
In 2011, America’s most popular cosmetic surgery procedures were:
- Breast augmentation
- Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping)
- Liposuction
- Eyelid surgery
- Face lift
- Tummy tuck
- Breast lift
- Dermabrasion
- Forehead lift
- Ear surgery