2001 National Totals for Cosmetic Procedures
The following list includes both surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures. The rankings of procedures overall (surgical and nonsurgical categories combined) are indicated in the column Overall Rank.
| Procedure Overall | Rank | Number of Procedures | Percent of Total |
| Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) | 17 | 71,123 | 0.8% |
| Blepharoplasty (cosmetic eyelid surgery) | 8 | 246,338 | 2.9% |
| Botox injection | 1 | 1,600,300 | 18.9% |
| Breast Augmentation | 9 | 216,754 | 2.6% |
| Breast lift | 20 | 60,142 | 0.7% |
| Breast Reduction (women)* | 14 | 114,926 | 1.4% |
| Buttock lift | 30 | 2,813 | 0.0% |
| Cellulite treatment | 19 | 61,985 | 0.7% |
| Cheek implants | 26 | 6,282 | 0.1% |
| Chemical peel | 2 | 1,361,479 | 16.1% |
| Chin augmentation | 22 | 27,123 | 0.3% |
| Collagen injection | 3 | 1,098,519 | 13.0% |
| Dermabrasion | 18 | 66,776 | 0.8% |
| Facelift | 13 | 117,034 | 1.4% |
| Fat injection | 15 | 78,509 | 0.9% |
| Forehead lift | 16 | 71,653 | 0.8% |
| Gynecomastia, treatment of | 25 | 16,512 | 0.2% |
| Hair transplantation | 24 | 22,041 | 0.3% |
| Laser hair removal | 5 | 854,582 | 10.1% |
| Laser skin resurfacing | 12 | 122,617 | 1.4% |
| Laser treatment of leg veins | 11 | 142,820 | 1.7% |
| Lip augmentation (other than injectable materials) | 21 | 30,781 | 0.4% |
| Lposuction** | 7 | 385,390 | 4.5% |
| Lower body lift | 29 | 4,268 | 0.1% |
| Microdermabrasion | 4 | 915,312 | 10.8% |
| Otoplasty (cosmetic ear surgery) | 23 | 26,844 | 0.3% |
| Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping) | 10 | 177,422 | 2.1% |
| Sclerotherapy | 6 | 557,856 | 6.6% |
| Thigh lift | 27 | 6,114 | 0.1% |
| Upper arm lift | 28 | 6,048 | 0.1% |
* Breast Reduction may be covered by insurance, depending on the patient's breast size, body type and symptoms.
**16.3% of these procedures were ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty (UAL).
Final figures are projected to reflect nationwide statistics and are based on a survey of doctors who have been certified by American Board of Medical Specialties recognized boards, including but not limited to the American Board of Plastic Surgery. The survey portion of this research has a standard error of +/-3.79% at a 95% level of confidence. Figures for procedures include but are not limited to those performed by ASAPS members. ASAPS members are plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery who specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face and the entire body.
Component figures may not add exactly to totals and percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding. In no cases are the sums of component figures off by more than .02% from the national total number of procedures.
Percent of Change in Select Procedures: 1997-2001
Note that large percentage changes are common in cases where the total number of procedures is small.
| Procedure | 2001 | 2000 | 1997 | Percent Change 2000 vs 2001 | Percent Change 1997 vs 2001 |
| Abdominoplasty (Tummy Tuck) | 71,123 | 58,426 | 34,002 | +22% | +109% |
| Blepharoplasty (cosmetic eyelid surgery) | 246,338 | 212,133 | 159,232 | +16% | +55% |
| Botulinum Toxin Injections (Botox®, Myobloc®) | 1,600,300 | 1,096,611 | 65,157 | +46% | +2356% |
| Breast Augmentation | 216,754 | 203,310 | 101,176 | +7% | +114% |
| Breast lift | 60,142 | 45,710 | 19,882 | +32% | +203% |
| Breast reduction (women)* | 114,926 | 90,042 | 47,874 | +28% | +140% |
| Buttock lift | 2,813 | 2,122 | 1,549 | +33% | +82% |
| Cellulite treatment | 61,985 | 51,253 | NA | +21% | NA |
| Cheek implants | 6,282 | 7,059 | 11,040 | -11% | -43% |
| Chemical peel | 1,361,479 | 630,194 | 481,227 | +116% | +183% |
| Chin augmentation | 27,123 | 20,499 | 27,373 | +32% | -1% |
| Collagen injection | 1,098,519 | 592,195 | 347,168 | +85% | +216% |
| Dermabrasion | 66,776 | 29,905 | 40,214 | +123% | +66% |
| Facelift | 117,034 | 102,842 | 99,196 | +14% | +18% |
| Fat injection | 78,509 | 84,724 | 38,259 | -7% | +105% |
| Forehead lift | 71,653 | 60,756 | 55,090 | +18% | +30% |
| Gynecomastia, treatment of | 16,512 | 15,968 | 11,168 | +3% | +48% |
| Hair transplantation | 22,041 | 38,978 | 61,023 | -43% | -64% |
| Laser hair removal | 854,582 | 487,807 | NA | +75% | NA |
| Laser skin resurfacing | 122,617 | 116,901 | 154,153 | +5% | -20% |
| Laser treatment of leg veins | 142,820 | 85,907 | NA | +66% | NA |
| Lip augmentation (other than injectable materials) |
30,781 | 21,266 | NA | +45% | NA |
| Liposuction | 385,390 | 376,633 | 176,863 | +2% | +118% |
| Lower body lift | 4,268 | 3,362 | 2,125 | +27% | +101% |
| Microdermabrasion | 915,312 | 610,705 | NA | +50% | NA |
| Otoplasty (cosmetic ear surgery) | 26,844 | 19,542 | 22,939 | +37% | +17% |
| Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping) | 177,422 | 135,795 | 137,053 | +31% | +29% |
| Sclerotherapy | 557,856 | 525,237 | NA | +6% | NA |
| Thigh lift | 6,114 | 10,357 | 2,895 | -41% | +111% |
| Upper arm lift | 6,048 | 4,913 | 2,516 | +23% | +140% |
| TOTALS | 8,470,363 | 5,741,154 | 2,099,173 | +48% | +304% |
* Breast reduction may be covered by insurance, depending on the patient's breast size, body type and symptoms. NA = Not available (was not asked in prior survey)
Final figures are projected to reflect nationwide statistics and are based on a survey of doctors who have been certified by American Board of Medical Specialties recognized boards, including but not limited to the American Board of Plastic Surgery. The survey portion of this research has a standard error of +/-3.79% at a 95% level of confidence. Figures for procedures include but are not limited to those performed by ASAPS members. ASAPS members are plastic surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery who specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face and the entire body. Component figures may not add exactly to totals and percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding. In no cases are the sums of component figures off by more than .02% from the national total number of procedures.
ASAPS 2001 COSMETIC SURGERY STATISTICS QUICK FACTS
Note: Quick Facts figures may not add exactly to totals and percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding. For exact numbers, go to the Media Center at surgery.org.
There were nearly 8.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed in 2001, according to the largest national survey to date by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
From 1997-2001, there was a 304% increase in the number of cosmetic procedures.
From 2000-2001, there was a 48% increase in the number of cosmetic procedures.
The top 5 surgical procedures were: lipoplasty (liposuction) (385,000, up 118% since 1997); eyelid surgery (246,000); breast augmentation (217,000); rhinoplasty (177,000); and facelift (117,000).
The top 5 nonsurgical procedures were: botulinum toxin injection-BTX (1.6 million, up 2356% since 1997); chemical peel (1.4 million); collagen injection (1.1 million); microdermabrasion (915,000); and laser hair removal (855,000).
Women had over 7.4 million cosmetic procedures, 88% of the total. The number of cosmetic procedures performed on women increased 311% from 1997-2001. The top 5 surgical procedures for women were lipoplasty, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, nose reshaping and breast reduction.
Men had over 1 million cosmetic procedures, 12% of the total. The number of cosmetic procedures performed on men increased 256% from 1997-2001. The top 5 surgical procedures for men were lipoplasty, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, breast reduction (treatment of gynecomastia) and facelift.
Baby Boomers age 35-50 had the most procedures -- 44% of the total. Men and women age 51-64 had 25% of procedures; age 19-34 had 22%; age 65-and-older had 5%; and age 18-and-under had 3.5% of all cosmetic procedures.
The most common procedures for age 18-and-under were chemical peel, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, nose reshaping and collagen injection.
Ethnic minorities accounted for 17% of all cosmetic procedures: Hispanics, 7%; African-Americans, 5%; Asians, 4%; and other non-Caucasians, 1%.
Where cosmetic procedures were performed: office facility, 49%; hospital, 27%; free-standing surgicenter, 24%; and other, 1%.
Among physician groups surveyed from multiple specialties, members of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) performed the highest average number of cosmetic procedures per doctor (576 procedures) in 2001. ASAPS members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and specialize in cosmetic surgery of the face and body.
