Cosmetic surgery is hotter than ever, at least according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Based on their new statistics for 2016, Americans spent more than $15 billion dollars on cosmetic procedures (surgical and nonsurgical) for the first time ever. And cosmetic breast surgery was among the biggest contributors to that milestone.
Of the nearly 2 million cosmetic surgery procedures performed in the US last year, 658,547 of them were breast surgeries. Meaning, 1 out of every 3 cosmetic procedures was intended to address the breasts. Of these procedures, breast augmentation remained the king, accounting for over 300,000 surgeries. Breast lift was the next most popular.
All of the major types of cosmetic breast surgery increased in volume from 2015 to 2016, but some certainly saw more significant increases than others. Despite remaining the most popular by far, breast augmentation only saw a 1.5% increase compared to 2015. Breast lift, breast reduction and, most significantly, breast implant removal all saw far more dramatic increases in popularity. This is just another signifier of the trend of smaller breasts becoming a preference for more and more women. Male breast reduction for men with gynecomastia saw a similar increase in popularity as well.
We’ve compiled a few more breast surgery statistics that we thought our patients may find interesting:
- Breast Implant Removal had one of the 5 largest increases (13%) of any cosmetic procedure from 2015 to 2016.
- Breast Augmentation was the most common procedure for women between ages 19-34.
- Male Breast Reduction (31,368 procedures) was the 2nd most common surgical procedure for men.
- Fat transfer injections to the breast (using a patient’s own fat removed during liposuction) saw a massive 41% increase in popularity last year, with more than 25,000 procedures performed.
What’s clear to us is that cosmetic surgery, especially cosmetic breast surgery, is more in-demand than ever. It seems that whatever barriers may have prevented certain patients from considering many of these procedures in the past have continued to fall away and allowed more people than ever to enjoy the benefits of cosmetic surgery. For more information or to schedule your cosmetic breast surgery consultation, please contact Dr. David Whiteman at Southern Plastic Surgery today. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for more tips and updates.