International plastic surgery statistics are available for the first time. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), released a report entitled, “ISAPS Biennial Global Survey,” earlier this month that details numbers and trends for procedures across the globe.
U.S. Plastic Surgery Statistics have been compiled for more than a decade by the Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). This debut publication by the ISAPS marks the first time information has been compiled for 25 countries around the globe.
What do the international figures reveal? As you can imagine, the report confirms some assumptions you might make. But it contains a few surprises too. When it comes to sheer numbers of procedures, yes, the U.S. tops the list, with over 15 percent of all plastic surgeries worldwide. But who is number two? The United Kingdom? No, the U.K. is far down the list at number 18. Brazil? No, but close. Brazil is number three. China is actually second in the number of procedures performed. India is number four, and Mexico is a somewhat surprising number five on the list.
You might suspect that breast augmentation, a consistently popular procedure, might be number one around the world. Or rhinoplasty, an operation that has been performed by plastic surgeons for decades. Neither one is top of the list worldwide; liposuction takes top honors.
One other finding that may surprise you is the fact that non-surgical procedures performed by plastic surgeons in the top 25 countries outnumber actual surgeries—8,759187 to 8,536,379. Consider the fact that many non-surgical treatments—such as Botox, hyaluronic acid (facial filler) injections and laser hair removal—are not administered by plastic surgeons, and you’ll get a sense of just how popular non-invasive procedures have become.
Some of the most important statistics to come out of the “ISAPS Biennial Global Survey” are related to plastic surgeons themselves. The report estimates that there are more than 30,000 board certified (or the equivalent in the home country) plastic surgeons at work internationally today.
The ISAPS believes that one of the most vital aspects of its “Global Survey” is the baseline it provides for tracking trends over the coming years. Switzerland’s Dr. Jan Poell, the new president of the Society, stated, “This is valuable information that will be used by medical professionals and media as an indispensable tool for calculating developments within our specialty and general trends, long before governments or industry have amassed this data."
Resources:
www.isaps.org/stats.php
www.surgery.org/sites/media/statistics