Plastic surgery rises in US for second year

Even though we live in uncertain economic times people aren’t afraid to spend some their money on plastic surgery. The industry has experienced significant growth for the second year straight.

According to statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) the number of varies procedures such as cosmetic fillers, liposuction, and breast augmentations increased by 5 percent in 2011. That is a total of 13.8 million invasive and non-invasive procedures performed last year.

Breast augmentations still hold the number one slot with surgeons conducting 307,000 procedures last year, up 4 percent from 2010, according to the Associated Press.

Other surgeries that rank in the top five include nose reshaping, liposuction, eye lid surgery and face-lifts, respectively. AP reported that this is the first time face-lifts have been in the top five since 2004 with a 2011 increase of 5 percent.

The number of liposuction procedures rose by 1 percent with a total of 205,000 procedures. Liposuction is minimally invasive procedure that removes stubborn pockets of fat, allowing a surgeon to contour the patient’s body.

The ASPS also showed that non-invasive cosmetic enhancement such as Botox and other soft-tissue fillers, microdermabrasion and laser hair removal rose by 6 percent.

Although we are not completely out of the recession the rise in plastic surgeries shows that this is a lucrative industry because it offers people the chance to look their best which in turn can boost a person’s self-confidence.