Plastic Surgery News: Plastic Surgery Top 10 List as compiled by the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons)

This just out! 2018 Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Statistics. These were tabulated and released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, whose members are Board Certified Plastic Surgeons. This Plastic Surgery News is from everywhere, but we have some local plastic surgery news of our own: these
top cosmetic plastic surgeries are the same as the top cosmetic plastic surgeries that we perform in Charleston WV.

What were the most common cosmetic Surgery procedures of 2018?

#1: Breast augmentation tops the list again as the most popular performed cosmetic surgery performed by Plastic Surgeons (313,735 breast augmentations in the US in 2018). Silicone Breast implants were placed in the majority of cases (88% according to the report), with saline implants going in less commonly (12%). This tops our list of the most common plastic surgery we do, for sure. View Dr. Thaxton’s breast augmentation before and after photos gallery.

#2: Liposuction. This includes liposuction of various body areas (thighs, abdomen, for instance). There was a 5% rise in these procedures from the previous year. You can view Dr. Thaxton performing a live liposuction on our YouTube channel!

#3: Nose reshaping surgery, aka, “rhinoplasty.” This surgery declined in popularity by 2% compared with the previous year, but remains a relatively common plastic surgery nonetheless. In our practice, this surgery is most often purely cosmetic, but sometimes can be performed in conjunction with a “septoplasty” which is nasal septum surgery to improve breathing. This combined procedure (cosmetic plus functional) is sometimes performed as a combined case in conjunction with our surgical friends, the ENT’s.

#4: Eyelid surgery, aka, “Blepharoplasty.” Eyelid surgery can be performed on the upper lids, aka, “upper bleph” or the lower lids, aka, “lower bleph,” or both. Blepaharoplasty can also be performed for purely cosmetic or functional reasons, too. The most common indication for the procedure in our office is cosmetic, but not too uncommonly, the patient arrives with a referral order from his or her optometrist or ophthalmologist for a medical reason. The eyelids can sometimes droop and affect the patient’s visual field, and this is a medical indication for eye lid surgery. Insurance usually covers blepharoplasty for this indication. You can see some of our blepharoplasty before and after pictures in our gallery by following the link here.

#5: Tummy tuck, aka, “Abdominoplasty.” The abdominoplasty procedure involves resecting loose saggy skin and tissue to flatten the stomach and restore the waist. The tummy tuck sometimes combines abdominoplasty with liposuction, as indicated for each patient. In our office, this procedure is commonly combined with our breast augmentation and/or breast lift for the popular “Mommy Makeover” procedure. Dr. Thaxton discusses abdominoplasty and what it can do for you on our YouTube channel.

#6: Facelift, aka, “Rhytidectomy.” A facelift surgery is performed to restore a face that has lost volume and begun to sag. Not only does a facelift involve hiking up loose tissues (such as facial ligaments, for instance), but for a good result, this must involve some work with the tissue under the skin and ligaments to rebuild volume. The volume restore (coined a “SMAS”) is a necessary part of the procedure in order to achieve a natural youthful look and to avoid the “fake look” that some people fear from a facelift. To see before & after of one of Dr. Thaxton’s facelift, scroll through our #wecanmakeyourfacesmooth on Instagram!

#7: Breast lift surgery, aka, “Mastopexy.” This procedure lifts the breast to improve sagging. Sometimes we perform breast lift alone, and sometimes we perform breast lift together with breast implants. Again, we also often use this surgery when we do Mommy Makeovers, depending on the patients goals and needs.

#8: Dermabrasion. Dermabrasion involves “roughing up the tissue.” This triggers skin tissue regrowth and restoration. Dermabrasion aims to smooth the skin and restore youthfulness. This is a different procedure from “microdermabrasion,” which is a superficial procedure. Dermabrasion declined in popularity slightly from 2017, perhaps due to the availability of less invasive skin treatment techniques.

#9: Neck lift. Many of our patients are bothered by loose, saggy skin on the neck. The call it “turkey neck” sometimes. Some of our patients opt for neck lift alone, but many undergo this surgery at the same time as a facelift.

#10: Forehead lift. This surgery aims to lift the forehead to reduce the sagging and wrinkles of the forehead. It smooths the forehead. A forehead lift will lift the brows, too. But a forehead lift is a little bit different from a brow lift, because some browlifts are performed lower on the forehead. This type of a browlift lifts only the brows, not the entire forehead. See our forehead lift before and after photos gallery.

This list certainly mimics the most popular plastic surgeries we perform in our practice. One other cosmetic plastic surgery that just missed this list is worth mentioning for us because we do see a lot of it, too: Upper arm lift, aka, “Brachioplasty.” Brachioplasty, or arm lifts, are performed after massive weight loss. Massive weight loss can result in loose, saggy skin at the arms. Our patients mostly refer to this clinical phenomenon as the “Bat Wings.” Brachioplasty tightens the arm skin and treats these “bat wings.” Our patients weight loss occurs naturally in some cases, and in some cases these patients have had bariatric surgery to trigger their massive weight loss.

What were the most common non-surgical procedures? Well, here are the top 5, all of which we do almost every day in our practice:

#1: Botox. Botox relaxes muscles in the face to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. The number of Botox treatments continues to rise rapidly from year to year. The number of Botox treatments performed since 200 has risen by 845%! We see this trend in our office, an increasing number of patients want the quick, convenient treatment.

#2: Fillers. The term “fillers” covers a lot of territory. Fillers can reduce lines and wrinkles in the face. They can make lips plumper in the ever-popular “lip augmentation” procedure. Fillers can also restore volume to the face. These are quite useful for patients who want to look younger but either don’t want or don’t need a facelift yet.

#3: Chemical peels. Chemical peels are self-explanatory. Peels have been around for ages, and their increased popularity (20% increase since 2000) reflects what we see in our practice—that patients are increasing interested in taking good care of their skin!

#4: Laser hair removal. Who doesn’t want to be smooth and hair free in some of our hairy places? Who doesn’t want to say goodbye to shaving? Our aesthetician Robin performs permanent hair reductions almost every day and sometimes multiple times a day.

#5: Microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion is a less invasive procedure to smooth the skin. Our aesthetician Robin likewise performs this procedure most days.

Others on the list:
• Cellulite treatment. We have the FDA-cleared cellulite treatment Cellfina.
• IPL treatments
• Non-surgical skin tightening via ThermiTight. Watch Dr. Thaxton discuss ThermiTight and the benefits it can do to your skin
• Non-invasive fat reduction via CoolSculpting.

We love being able to offer these options to our patients. Our patients like to take good care of themselves, and we are glad to offer these options to help them. We are in the business of promoting good health, healthy lifestyles, and you being your best self. Our patients want to be their best and their fittest. They want to feel inspired and energetic and be able to perform the fun and family activities that they love and get their most enjoyment out of life. Our patients leave our office happy and with smiles on their faces. We love what we do. Stay tuned to our blog for more plastic surgery news.