14.6 Million Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures Performed in 2012
According to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), 14.6 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, including both minimally-invasive and surgical, were performed in the United States in 2012, up 5 percent since 2011.
Cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures increased 6 percent, with more than 13 million procedures in 2012. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were:
• Botulinum toxin type A (6.1 million procedures, up 8 percent)
• Soft tissue fillers (2 million procedures, up 5 percent)
• Chemical peel (1.1 million procedures, up 2 percent)
• Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, up 4 percent)
• Microdermabrasion (974,000 procedures, up 8 percent)
Cosmetic surgical procedures with 1.6 million procedures in 2012. The top five surgical procedures were:
• Breast augmentation (286,000 procedures)
• Nose reshaping (243,000 procedures)
• Eyelid surgery (204,000 procedures)
• Liposuction (202,000 procedures)
• Facelift (126,000 procedures)
Like the weather, plastic surgery is always hot in Beverly Hills. The current philosophy really seems to be “less is more” and most patients are requesting a more natural look after surgery. Overall, the day of the “extreme makeover” is over and patients want to simply look like a younger, rested version of themselves rather than undergoing a radical transformation. The reality is, we’ll never reverse time but, we can certainly use anti-aging tools to look as good as we can for any given age. Plastic surgery is becoming part of the arsenal of things that a person can have access to as they consider how they’re going to personally battle the aging process. The plastic surgeon now plays the role of a guide through the maze of numerous procedures an office may have to offer nowadays — whether they are minimally invasive, noninvasive, or surgical.
Let’s start with the face. A facelift has long been the traditional method of neck and face rejuvenation. It is still an extremely common procedure and most patients request a natural, rested look rather than an over-tightened or “done” look. A mini-facelift allows for youthful contouring of the neck and jowls and it is commonly combined with facial fat grafting to achieve volume restoration as well as skin lift and tightening. The advantage of using fat grafting is the fact that fat has a rich supply of stem cells which are the rejuvenating powerhouse of the human body. There is also a plethora of injectable products that are now available for non-surgical facial rejuvenation that can be used for filling lines and depressions caused by aging. Some of the newest injectables are being engineered to last longer and to contain an anesthetic agent to “numb” the injection site. Lastly, lasers to resurface the facial canvas are constantly being developed and tested. Intense pulsed light can be used to reverse sun damage and fractioned lasers can be used to tighten skin with very little downtime necessary for healing.
As far as the breasts, silicone is back! Silicone breast implants are now approved by the FDA for use in breast augmentation in all patients over the age of 22. However, the modern techniques in breast augmentation have made the age old question of “silicone vs saline?”somewhat inconsequential. Either implant can be used to create a natural, soft breast and neither implant is “better.” Having said that, there are definite differences between the two implants and these differences need to be discussed with every patient in order to chose the “right” implant in each individual case. Even though breast implants are well-established as being safe and effective in breast augmentation, fat grafting with stem cells seems to hold promise in this area of plastic surgery as well. In the future, we will hopefully be able to manipulate stem cells harvested from a patient’s own fat to reconstruct or augment their breasts!
In regards to the body, laser technology has now spilled over into the liposuction arena. There are many different laser-assisted liposuction techniques that are now available and there are many more currently in development. The laser is actually inserted under the skin in order to melt the fat before it is removed with the suction cannulas! The laser is believed to improve surgical outcomes by making the procedure “smoother” and less traumatic to the tissue.
As for treating the skin, the pace of change in the technologies is incredibly fast. There are constant advances in laser- and light-based treatments and the applicability of neurotoxins and injectable fillers such as Botox® (botulinum toxin type A), Restylane® and Juvederm® is always expanding. For example, Botulinum toxin can now be used to erase lines and wrinkles in the forehead, eyes, around the mouth, in the neck and to reduce excess sweating in the armpits and hands! Imagine if this miracle drug could be applied in a nightly cream. Well it might be in the future since current research is showing that the botulinum toxin molecule could potentially be modified so it could be applied as a facial cream instead of given by injection! The potential uses of these neurotoxins and injectables are limitless and we will undoubtedly have all sorts of new variations of these materials in the future. Lastly, a product that is becoming more and more popular is Latisse®. This product promises to grow eyelashes longer and thicker and it appears to be effective since the lines to buy it are growing just as fast as the lashes!
Just remember that when looking for a plastic surgeon to perform any of the time-tested or newly introduced procedures, please follow a few simply rules to help you achieve the outcomes you desire.
1. Safety first: Always look for a surgeon that will place your personal safety and health before anything else. These are elective surgical procedures that are aimed at increasing your beauty and quality of life but they can all come with significant risks if performed by the wrong hands. A safe plastic surgeon should alway follows his oath as a doctor to “Do No Harm” as his primary directive.
2. Board Certification: Always do your homework and make sure that your surgeon is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Being simply “board Certified” is not enough. Always make sure to ask your surgeon what they are board certified in rather than if they are board certified. For example, a surgeon performing plastic surgery can be Board certified in almost anything such us Board Certified in Dermatology, Board Certified in Gynecology, Board Certified in Cosmetic Surgery, Board Certified in Facial Plastic Surgery, etc… but only true plastic surgeons are Board Certified in Plastic Surgery (ABPS).You can look for this symbol displayed on their webpage or (you can check on your doctors Board Certification in Plastic Surgery by following this link. Board Certification in plastic surgery is important because it means that the doctor passed intensive and extensive training and testing that provided proper training, knowledge, ethics and safety in performing all current plastic surgery procedures. It is a process that takes many years to complete and it is never truly done since the American Board of Plastic surgery requires all of its Diplomats to continue educating themselves and reporting their surgical cases to them on a regular basis. The surgeons are also tested on a routine basis in order to assess their continuing medical education and knowledge base of current trends and procedures in plastic surgery procedures.
3. Surgical Talent: One thing the Boards do not evaluate is the individual surgical and artistic talent of any given surgeon. This is one thing you need to do on your own. The best way to assess a surgeon’s own personal aesthetic and talent is to review their online photo galleries of past patients. Review both the quality and quantity of work. IN plastic surgery, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, and you must take the time to see if your vision of beauty matches any potential surgeon’s aesthetic sense before every stepping in to their operating room.
4. In person Consultation: Lastly, an in person consultation is critical to make sure that a surgeon’s ego does not get in the way of you getting the results that YOU truly want from surgery. A great plastic surgeon will always take the time to listen to your own personal desires and concerns about any possible plastic surgery procedure. Before leaving your consultation make sure that all of your questions have been answered and always make sure that the surgeon and his staff are kind, courteous, welcoming and knowledgeable.
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