All over the world people want to change the way they look by using cosmetic treatments and a recent study shows that both surgical and nonsurgical procedures are on the rise.
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) released the results of their annual International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures in December which showed an overall increase of 5.4% in cosmetic procedures completed in 2018.
Non-invasive treatments, such as fillers, increased by 10.4%, significantly more than aesthetic operations, which showed a slight decrease of 0.6%.
Breast Augmentation with implants has risen to first place among the most frequent operations. This represents a growth in size of 6.1% compared to the previous year and 27.6% compared to 2014.
The largest increase in surgical procedures was in liposuction and abdominoplasty, both with an increase of over 9% compared to the last report.
Botulinum Toxin treatment grew the most from 2017 with an increase of 17.4%, followed by Hyaluronic Acid filler treatments at 11.6%.
Ranking of the Top 10 Countries for Cosmetic Procedures
The top two countries (USA and Brazil) account for 28.4% of total aesthetic procedures performed worldwide, followed by the remaining eight countries (Mexico, Germany, India, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Australia, and Thailand). Brazil has climbed to first place in the world for aesthetic surgery procedures, while USA leads the world in non-surgical procedures.
Country | Total Surgical | Total Non- | Total | Percentage of Total |
USA | 1,492,383 | 2,869,485 | 4,361,867 | 18.7% |
Brazil | 1,498,327 | 769,078 | 2,267,405 | 9.7% |
Mexico | 518,046 | 525,200 | 1,043,247 | 4.5% |
Germany | 385,906 | 536,150 | 922,056 | 4.0% |
India | 390,793 | 505,103 | 895,896 | 3.9% |
Italy | 311,456 | 542,752 | 854,208 | 3.7% |
Argentina | 280,555 | 328,405 | 608,960 | 2.6% |
Colombia | 273,316 | 135,473 | 408,789 | 1.8% |
Australia | 102,404 | 100,238 | 202,642 | 0.9% |
Thailand | 105,105 | 35,018 | 140,123 | 0.6% |
The Gender Difference
Women continue to undergo more cosmetic procedures than men, accounting for 87.4%, or 20,330,465 procedures. Men accounted for 12.6% of all procedures in 2018, or 2,935,909 procedures.
The most popular surgical and nonsurgical procedures for women are Breast Augmentation at 1,841,098 procedures and Botulinum Toxin at 5,344,764 procedures, respectively. The most popular surgical and nonsurgical procedures for men are Gynecomastia at 269,720 procedures and Botulinum Toxin at 752,752 procedures, respectively.
Dr Dirk Richter, President of ISAPS said it is exciting to see how fast the market is changing in the world. More and more treatments are performed with minimal invasiveness, as the figures show.’
However, Dr Richter warned against filler treatments by non-doctors or untrained doctors due to the observed increasing complications worldwide.
‘Although breast implants are a recurring topic in the media, this is an area with the greatest growth in the world and patients recognize the many benefits,’ he said. ‘We are seeing record numbers again this year proving that patients are taking advantage of the latest innovations in aesthetic surgery to look and feel better.
Survey Methodology
Data for the Global Survey was tabulated with a questionnaire sent to approximately 35,000 plastic surgeons in ISAPS’ proprietary database. The questionnaire primarily focused on the number of specific surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed in 2018, along with some ancillary questions related to medical tourism. The results were compiled, tabulated, and analyzed by Industry Insights, an independent research firm based in Columbus, OH.
For a copy of full results, please visit www.ISAPS.org.
