Statistics on the number of plastic surgery procedures are available from many sources today, and the most current reveal that physicians from several specialties combined perform a large number of cosmetic procedures.

All of these statistics report cosmetic procedures only.

ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgery) continues to be the only source for statistics on both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery patients treated by ASPS physicians, all of whom are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. (ABPS)

Newly released statistics report that ASPS physicians performed 2.7 million cosmetic and reconstructive procedures in 2000. The split between cosmetic and reconstructive was tallied at more than 1.3 million each for about a 50-50 split.

ASPS has been tracking both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery statistics since 1992. In that time cosmetic and reconstructive patients have increased 68%.

ASPS reports the number of patients who have received plastic surgery procedures rather than each site at which a procedure is performed, a counting process that yields higher overall totals. Each participating physician records each patient once per procedure, and is asked to record the exact number of patients not to estimate.

For instance, a patient having an abdominoplasty and single or multi-site liposuction is reported once for each procedure, unlike other organizations that instruct participating physicians to record a patient once for abdominoplasty and also for each site where liposuction is performed.

Who are cosmetic surgery patients?

• 91% are female, 9% are male
• 23% are repeat patients
• 37% have multiple procedures
• Hispanics account for 7% of all patients, African Americans 5% and Asian Americans 4%
• 43% are ages 35-50

Cosmetic patients up, Top five procedures same since 1996.

In 2000, 1,355,793 patients had cosmetic procedures up 9% since 1999 and 20% since 1998. Liposuction, Breast Augmentation and Eyelid surgery we the 3 most often performed procedures, as they have been since 1996. Botox injections and Facelifts round out the top five.

Other highlights include:

Liposuction

• Nearly 5 times more liposuctions were performed in 2000 than in 1992
• Males comprise 12% of liposuction patients

Breast Augmentation

• 187,755 breast augmentations were performed in 2000, a 476% increase over 1992.
• It is the second most popular procedure for females preceded only by liposuction.
• Breast Augmentation increased 42% since 1998 and 12% since 1999.
• 58% of all breast augmentations were performed on patients ages 19-34.
• 89% of breast implants removed from augmentation patients were replaced with new implants.

Eyelid Surgery

• Eyelid surgeries have almost tripled since 1992 and have increased 44% since 1998 and 21% since 1999.
• Males had 212% more eyelid surgeries in 2000 than in 1992, and 27% more than in 1999
• Eyelid surgery is the second-most common cosmetic surgery performed on males, preceded by liposuction and followed by nose reshaping.

Botox Injections

• Botox injections were tracked for the first time in 2000, reporting in at 118,452.
• 7%of Botox injections were performed on males.
• The most popular age group for this procedure is ages 35-50, representing 61% of all Botox injections.

Office, Surgi-Center or Hospital

• Most cosmetic procedures are performed in an Office setting (37%), followed by Free-standing ambulatory surgical facilities (35%) and Hospital (28%)

Reconstructive procedures up since 1992

With more than 1.3 million reconstructive patients in 2000, the rate of growth since 1992 is 9%. 8% growth was recorded since 1999.

Top Reconstructive Procedure

Tumor removal is again the most-performed reconstructive procedure. Since 1992, ASPS physicians have removed tumors from more than 500,000 patients annually. 2000 statistics reveal that 578,161 patients were treated, a 5% increase over 1992. These patients account for 43% of all reconstructive patients.

Hand Surgeries

• 190,874 patients had hand surgeries, representing a 38% increase since 1992.
• Hand surgeries include treatment for carpal tunnel, arthritis, congenital defects, Dupuytren’s contracture and trauma.

Breast Reconstruction

• 78,832 patients had breast reconstruction.
• 38% or 29,633 were performed at the same time as mastectomy.
• 51% of breast reconstruction were performed on women ages 35-50.
• After a rapid growth from 1992 through 1999, breast reconstruction patients decreased by 5% since 1999.
• 78% of all reconstructive patients who had breast implants removed had them replaced with new implants.

Breast Reduction

• More than twice as many patients had breast reduction in 2000 than in 1992.
• Patients most often fall in the age groups of 19-34 (39%) and 35-50 (38%).
• Breast reduction is the 3rd most performed reconstructive procedure, representing 6% of total reconstructive procedures for 2000.

Find The Full Report

The National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Statistics is located on the ASPS web site at www.plasticsurgery.org and is accessible directly from the home page. The entire 2000 report is available in a format that can be downloaded, including tables and graphs on cosmetic and reconstructive trends, top-five procedures, gender and age distribution, and average surgeon’s fees. News releases, which have been widely distributed to national and local media, are also available.