Botulinum Toxin Injections Most Popular Plastic Surgery Procedure in the World
Botulinum toxin injections (Botox, Dysport) were the top plastic surgery procedure in the world last year, according to statistics recently released by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS).
Billed as the first reliable international plastic surgery data ever surveyed, the data showed that botulinum toxin injections were performed 2,860,238 times last year, 32.7% of all non-surgical procedures.
It was followed by hyaluronic acid injections as the number two non-surgical procedure, which made up 20.1% of all non-surgical procedures. The rest of the top 5 non-surgical procedures were laser hair removal (13.1%); autologous fat injections (5.9%); and IPL laser treatment (4.4%).
Chemical peel, microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing, sclerotherapy, and laser treatment of leg veins rounded out the top 10.
The number of non-surgical procedures topped the number of surgical procedures, “reflecting both advances in cosmetic surgery innovation and the desirability of less expensive treatments,” according to ISAPS.
Liposuction was the top plastic surgery procedure, representing almost 19 percent of all surgical procedures. It was followed by breast augmentation (17%); eyelid lift (13.5%); rhinoplasty (9.4%); and tummy tuck (7.3%).
The top procedures do vary among countries. “It is not always liposuction and breast augmentation that are No. 1,” says Foad Nahai, MD, ISAPS President and a plastic surgeon in Atlanta. For instance, injectables are not yet as popular in other countries as they are in the U.S., he says.
The United States had more than 3 million plastic surgery procedures (surgical and non-surgical) performed in 2009, making it the country with the most procedures.
The top 5 countries, by total number of procedures, were:
- United States (17.5% of total procedures)
- Brazil (14.3%)
- China (12.7%)
- India (5.2%)
- Mexico (4.8%)
“It is no surprise to me that the United States has the largest number of aesthetic procedures, and same with Brazil,” says Dr. Nahai. “But countries like China and India with emerging economies are generating a lot wealth and as that wealth is passed around, people are choosing to their spend discretionary income on aesthetic procedures.”
For more information on the statistics, visit the ISAPS website.
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