Cosmetic surgeries turning out to be less popular options

Until the year 2009, there was much popularity for cosmetic surgery, but in 2009 there was a decline in demand, according to the annual survey of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

According to the report of the society in 2009, the numbers of cosmetic procedures like eyelid surgeries, nose jobs, breast augmentations, tummy tucks and liposuction declined by about 9% from 1,6639,026 in 2008 to 1,521,409. The figure for eyelid surgery and nose jobs went down by 8%. This was corroborated by 715 doctors answering the survey. The rates of liposuction went down by 19%. Breast augmentations fell down by 6% and tummy tucks by 5%.


The decline in the numbers may be due to the expenses that have to be incurred. For example, the average cost for a tummy tuck is $4,936 which excludes the operating room fees and the cost of anesthesia. Another reason may be that Americans are now opting for wardrobe enhancements rather than cosmetic beautification.

According to the president of the society, cosmetic surgery has become a luxury item for most Americans with even wealthy people thinking twice before spending money on it.

Although they may be putting it off, people will ultimately opt for cosmetic surgeries if they are unhappy about some part of themselves.

However, the numbers do not provide a definitive picture, although they provide a deep insight.

The doctors answering the surveys may not be repeated due to some reason or the other. These figures also exclude the surgeons who are not professional cosmetic surgeons and are trained in some other branch of medicine but perform cosmetic procedures.

The results echo the results of another survey conducted by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery by recording a steep decline of the cosmetic procedures by about 18% from last year.

But the doctors are confident that the demand for the cosmetic surgery is pent up. According to one doctor, the people are merely trying out less costly alternatives to the cosmetic processes.

For example, some people are opting for Botox or fillers instead of a face lift, expecting the same results, but they were not entirely satisfied by the results.

Patients who used a mix of both fillers and Botox got much better and satisfactory results. However, the results are temporary, with many of those people wanting a lasting effect through surgical methods.

A website which hosts a forum of people discussing cosmetic procedures, recently conducted a survey to find out how many people have their aesthetic dreams deferred. The people were asked that if they had the money - would they opt for cosmetic procedures?

Out of the 2,148 people asked, 69% would go for cosmetic surgery, which was higher than the 54% of November 2009. The founder of the website had remarked in a conference that the traffic of the site was growing with many visitors showing interest in cosmetic processes.

There has been decline by 4% in administration of the number of botulinum toxin injections which freezes wrinkles.

Dysport had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration which helps in smoothing out the wrinkles between the eyebrows which could have proven to be a tough competitor for  Botox. But there has been a disinterest among Americans for plastic surgeries probably because of the problem of regular upkeep.

The injections for both Dysport and Botox involve a lot of money and are a painful process as well. However, the number of injections administered in 2009 was a staggering 4,795,357 which costs $405 on an average each.


Some obscure operations gained popularity like calf augmentation increasing from 247 to 259. Lip augmentations are popular as well, with 21,000 people opting for it instead of injecting their lips with fillers.

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