The aesthetic industry is always changing with the times, and the 2015 statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reflect that. The types of procedures that Americans are having are shifting with an accent on lifts of various areas of the body, particularly the backside. Plus, for the first time the king of all cosmetic surgeries — the facelift — isn’t on the list of the top five most popular cosmetic procedures.

Yes, it appears that the ample publicity that surrounds the ample booties of Nicki Minaj and Kim Kardashian is having an effect on people’s tastes. In 2015, the fastest growing sector of cosmetic procedures was buttock augmentation, lifts, and implants. Holy junk in the trunk, Batman!

Overall, however, nothing changed, as last year’s most popular cosmetic surgery is again this year’s — breast augmentation. The procedure numbers were down 2% from 2014, but still far ahead of the next most popular surgical procedure, liposuction.

Americans are trending toward the lift

Overall, the ASPS reports that 15.9 million surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2015, a 2% increase over 2014. When it comes to plastic surgery, new trends are becoming evident. Since 2000, ASPS statistics show considerable growth in lifts of all sorts:

• Breast lifts, up 89% (99,614 in 2015, up from 52,836 in 2000)
• Buttock lifts, up 252% (4,767 in 2015, up from 1,356 in 2000)
• Lower body lifts, up 3,973% (8,431 in 2015, up from 207 in 2000)
• Upper arm lifts, up 4,959% (17,099 in 2015, up from 338 in 2000)

As Americans age, it seems they want to counter the sagging that comes with that age.

Top fives

For the first time, facelifts slipped out of the top five most-performed procedures in 2015, replaced by tummy tucks. You have to figure that as more people use Botox and dermal fillers, they opt out of more “traditional” facelifts. Of the 1.7 million cosmetic surgical procedures performed in the U.S. in 2015, here are the top five:

1.Breast augmentation (279,143 procedures, down 2% from 2014)
2.Liposuction (222,051 procedures, up 5% from 2014)
3.Nose surgery (217,979 procedures, unchanged from 2014)
4.Eyelid surgery (203,934 procedures, down 1% from 2014)
5.Tummy tuck (127,967 procedures, up 9% from 2014)

Among the 14.2 million cosmetic minimally invasive procedures performed in 2015, the top five were:

1.Botulinum toxin type A (6.7 million procedures, up 1% from 2014)
2.Dermal fillers (2.4 million procedures, up 6% from 2014)
3.Chemical peels (1.3 million procedures, up 5% from 2014)
4.Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, unchanged from 2014)
5.Microdermabrasion (800,340 procedures, down 9% from 2014)

So, 2015 was an uplifting year for the ASPS stats. We’ll see if these trends continue in 2016. If you haven’t been a part of these statistics, what are you waiting for? All you have to lose is a few years! Call Dr. Smith at 843-705-8940 and set up a consultation.