New York: Americans reeling from a recession spent $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) on plastic surgery procedures last year, down 3 per cent from 2008, with declines for all of the most popular procedures, according to new data.
Breast enlargement, nose jobs, eyelid surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks were all down, with liposuction showing the biggest decline, the latest figures from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) showed.
The top five procedures overall in 2009 were breast augmentation (down 6 per cent); nose reshaping (down 8 per cent); eyelid surgery (down 8 per cent); liposuction (down 19 per cent); and a "tummy tuck," or the surgical cutting of excess fat on the abdomen and stomach (down 5 per cent).
About 210,000 teenagers between the ages 13 to 19 had cosmetic surgeries, making up 2 per cent of the procedures, or the smallest group, according to the data.
The most popular cosmetic surgeries among teens were nose reshaping, breast reduction in boys, breast enlargement, ear surgery and liposuction.
Less invasive surgery like Botox and wrinkle fillers are up 99 per cent since 2000. Facelifts also remains of high interest to baby boomers 55 years old and older.
The reported declines did not seem to reflect a cultural shift away from plastic surgery.
