Economy cuts into plastic surgery business

Surgical procedures down 9 percent in 2008, but Botox is up, group says

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Image: A woman receives a treatment at Corporac

Buying beauty
Americans are spending more and more on cosmetic procedures to look younger, firmer and otherwise enhanced.

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updated 4:13 p.m. ET March 25, 2009

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The struggling economy cut into plastic surgery last year as spending on cosmetic procedures drooped, but less-invasive procedures like Botox injections continued to grow, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said.

A total of $10.3 billion was spent last year on cosmetic procedures, a category that excludes reconstructive surgeries. That's a 9 percent drop from 2007.

Cosmetic surgeries fell 9 percent to 1.7 million compared with 2007, according to the Arlington Heights, Ill.-based society. Of that total, breast augmentation dropped 12 percent to 307,000 procedures, and liposuction fell 19 percent.

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Tummy tucks tumbled 18 percent to 122,000.

But society President Dr. John Canady said in a statement business will recover with the economy and as the children of baby boomers start to consider surgery.

He said repeat patients and those who put off more extensive surgery likely bolstered the number of lower-impact, minimally invasive procedures. They grew 5 percent to 10.4 million. Botox injections grew 8 percent to 5 million, while laser hair removal fell 2 percent.

Reconstructive surgeries — a category that includes tumor removal, hand surgery and breast reduction — grew 3 percent to nearly 5 million.

The society represents more than 6,700 doctors. It compiled the procedure totals by using an online national plastic surgery database and an annual doctor survey. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.3 percent.

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