American Society of Plastic Surgeons Releases New Stats for 2018

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the largest professional organization in the United States for plastic and cosmetic surgeons, has just released its new 2018 statistics. The data reveals information about which cosmetic procedures were most popular, based on the number performed by ASPS member surgeons.

The data is also broken down by other variables, including age, gender, and surgical or minimally invasive procedures. ASPS members can report information about the procedures they perform via an online national database: Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons (TOPS). The ASPS also sends out an annual survey to board certified, plastic and cosmetic surgeons. The results from the database and the survey form the data for ASPS’ annual statistics report.

Our staff at Jefferson Plastic Surgery sees similar trends among our patients, so we thought it might be interesting to share the results with you.

General Data

A total of more than 17.7 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2018. This represented an increase of approximately 250,000 procedures from the more than 17.4 million procedures performed in 2017. This 2018 number continues the upward trend of overall interest in cosmetic procedures over the past five years.

Top Five Cosmetic Surgical Procedures for 2018

More than 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures were performed in 2018. Of these, the five most popular were:

• Breast augmentation (313,735 procedures, up 4 percent from 300,378 procedures in 2017)
• Liposuction (258,558 procedures, up 5 percent from 246,354 procedures in 2017)
• Nose reshaping (213,780 procedures, down 2 percent from 218,924 procedures in 2017)
• Eyelid surgery (206,529 procedures, down 1 percent from 209,571 procedures in 2017)
• Tummy tuck (130,081 procedures, approximately the same as in 2017)

Top Five Cosmetic Minimally Invasive Procedures for 2018

According to the ASPS, almost 16 million minimally invasive cosmetic procedures were performed in 2018. The five most popular procedures were:

• Botox (more than 7.4 million procedures, up 3 percent from more than 7.2 million in 2017)
• Soft tissue fillers (almost 2.7 million procedures, up 2 percent from more than 2.6 million in 2017)
• Chemical peel (almost 1.4 million procedures, approximately the same as in 2017)
• Laser hair removal (more than 1 million procedures, approximately the same as in 2017)
• Microdermabrasion (709,413 procedures, down 4 percent from 740,287 procedures in 2017)

Trends for 2018

One of the more interesting trends for 2018 was the upward jump in the percentage of both breast augmentations (4 percent) and liposuction (5 percent) procedures. This would appear to show that there is increased interest in cosmetic procedures on areas of the body other than just the face. Given some of the recent advances in these procedures, such as the relatively new cohesive gel breast implants and the use of advanced techniques to remove excess fat, it should not be surprising to see increased interest in procedures that take advantage of this to provide better outcomes for patients.

It appears clear from these statistics that general interest in cosmetic procedures shows no sign of slowing down. If anything, it is spurring on advances in procedures to provide better outcomes that are safer for patients.