A Decade of Boosting Breast Size

Breast implant operations have surged 40 percent in the past decade, with nearly 300,000 women last year opting to increase their breast size.

New data released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that breast enhancement, through lifts and implants, remains a priority for women seeking cosmetic surgery. By contrast, nose jobs, liposuction and lip augmentation are all on the decline.

Last year surgeons performed 296,203 breast implants, a 2 percent increase over 2009 and a 39 percent jump since 2000. Women in the Mountain and Pacific states are most likely to seek breast enhancement, accounting for nearly 40 percent of procedures.

Breast lifts, which reached nearly 90,000 last year, are up 9 percent since 2009 and 70 percent since 2000. And 82,871 operations were performed to reduce breast size, an increase of 6 percent from the year before but still 2 percent lower than 2000. (Additionally, 18,280 male breast reduction operations were performed.)

About 21,700 operations were performed to remove breast implants. That’s 9 percent more of these procedures than in 2009, but a drop of 47 percent since 2000.

Over all, doctors performed 13.1 million cosmetic procedures in 2010, an increase of 5 percent compared with 2009. That includes 11.6 million noninvasive procedures and 1.6 million operations.

Several once-popular surgical procedures have declined in the past decade. They include:

• Liposuction: 203,106, down 43 percent.
• Nose jobs: 252,261, down 35 percent.
• Eyelid surgery: 208,764, down 36 percent.
• Face-lifts: 112,955, down 16 percent.

Many surgical procedures have been replaced by noninvasive treatments developed in the past decade. Some of the most popular noninvasive procedures last year, compared with the year 2000, include:

• Botox injections: 5.4 million, up 584 percent.
• Wrinkle fillers: 1.8 million, up 172 percent.
• Laser hair removal: 937,601, up 27 percent.

Women account for 91 percent of cosmetic procedures. Middle age remains the most popular time to seek cosmetic work. Procedures for patients between ages 40 and 54 increased 6 percent last year, accounting for about half of all procedures. Even so, cosmetic work is gaining in popularity among the old and young. People 55 and older underwent 3.3 million cosmetic procedures last year, a rise of 4 percent over the previous year. And 2.4 million procedures were performed on people in their 30s, an increase of 4 percent.

Cosmetic work is most popular among Caucasians, who represent 70 percent of procedures. Hispanics account for 11 percent, African-Americans 8 percent, and Asian-Americans 6 percent.

The most popular surgical procedures among African-Americans are liposuction, nose reshaping and breast reduction. Asian-Americans are most likely to seek breast augmentation, nose reshaping and eyelid surgery. Hispanics are most likely to seek breast augmentation, liposuction and nose reshaping.