Cosmetic Surgery: Facts and Figures

The rising numbers of cosmetic surgery procedures pertain mostly to opportunity rather than intense vanity. The stereotypical patient is certainly not as some may imagine, such as a celebrity or glamour model. Our everyday clients are generally people who are looking to improve their confidence or quality of life through cosmetic surgery, by opting for facelifts, rectifying old sports injuries and so on. Sometimes genetics just lets you down, and that’s where we come in. Here are few facts and figures about the UK cosmetic surgery industry to set things in perspective a little more:

Despite the recession, the number of plastic surgery procedures carried out in 2009 rose by 6.7%

Male surgery rose by 21%, with the most rapid growth being male breast reduction, which rose by 80%

The most popular surgery among women remains breast augmentation surgery e.g. breast enlargement.

The demand for full facelifts fell by 8%, but was counterbalanced by the growth in demand for smaller procedures like brow lifts and eyelid surgery.

Perhaps the most notable growth has been in the fields of non-invasive and minimal cosmetic procedures like dermal fillers and botox. Many clients even pop in for such procedures on their lunch breaks from work.

The advances in cosmetic medicine have been fantastic since around the mid-nineties (the birth of Botox), and the rate of discovery and development doesn’t seem to be slowing. The safety and comfort of patients is of paramount importance; more invasive procedures like breast augmentation, full facelifts and the like are safer and more easily recovered from than ever before.