The Fastest Growing Cosmetic Procedures: Major Surgeries?

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Despite the increasing popularity of minimally invasive procedures such as Botox, laser hair removal, chemical peels, and the like, major surgeries – not minor tune-ups – are the fastest growing cosmetic procedures in the United States.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the top five cosmetic procedures performed last year were those done to remove excess skin. Body contouring procedures, as they are commonly referred to, experienced a 22 percent increase since last year.

The five fastest growing cosmetic surgical procedures are:

  • Lower body lift
  • Upper arm lift
  • Buttock lift
  • Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
  • Thigh lift

The Reason

Since the early 1990s, the number of patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity increased elevenfold. Many believe this explosion is due in part to celebrities who have undergone the procedure and publicized it.

Some of the celebrities who have had gastric bypass surgery include pop-singer Carnie Wilson, television weatherman and personality Al Roker, and American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Cosmetic Consequences of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric bypass patients often require as many as six cosmetic procedures to remedy the effects – particularly excess skin – of their significant weight loss, said Berish Strauch, professor of plastic surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.

Strauch said that some gastric bypass patients require two upper arm lifts, two thigh lifts, and an abdominal lift to completely remove the excess flesh. Some patients may also need facial surgery.

Interested in post-bariatric cosmetic surgery? Please contact us to learn more or to schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon near you.


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