Despite economy, plastic surgery up again

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., March 25 (UPI) -- Despite the housing slump, the price of gas and the credit crunch, U.S. adults do have money for plastic surgery, plastic surgeons said.

A report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said almost 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2007 -- a 7 percent increase from 2006 and a 59 percent increase from 2000.

In addition, 5.1 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2007.

The top five surgical procedures were 348,000 breast augmentations, up 6 percent; 302,000 liposuctions, remained unchanged; 285,000 nose reshapings, down 7 percent; 241,000 eyelid surgeries, up 3 percent; and 148,000 tummy tucks, up 1 percent.

Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures rose by 9 percent, to nearly 10 million procedures. Hyaluronic acid fillers -- Restylane, Hylaform, Hylaform Plus and Juvederm -- jumped from fifth most popular in 2006 to second most popular in 2007.

The top five minimally invasive procedures were Botox at 4.6 million, up 13 percent from 2006; hyaluronic acid fillers at 1.1 million, up 35 percent; chemical peel at 1 million, down 4 percent; laser hair removal at 906,000, up 2 percent; and microdermabrasion at 897,000, up 10 percent.