Latest International Study Shows Aesthetic Surgery Continues to Rise Worldwide

Total surgical and nonsurgical procedures increased by 5.4% in 2018

Hanover, N.H., December 3, 2019 – The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) released the results of their annual International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures today, which showed an overall increase of 5.4% in cosmetic procedures completed in 2018.

Highlights of the 2018 Global Survey

Non-invasive treatments, such as fillers, increased by 10.4%, significantly more than aesthetic operations, which showed a slight decrease of 0.6%.

Breast Augmentation with implants has risen to first place among the most frequent operations. This represents a growth in size of 6.1% compared to last year and 27.6% compared to 2014.

The largest increase in surgical procedures was in Liposuction and Abdominoplasty, both with an increase of over 9% compared to last year.

Botulinum Toxin treatment grew the most from 2017 with an increase of 17.4%, followed by Hyaluronic Acid filler treatments at 11.6%.

Ranking of the Top 10 Countries for Cosmetic Procedures

The top two countries (USA and Brazil) account for 28.4% of total aesthetic procedures performed worldwide, followed by the remaining eight countries (Mexico, Germany, India, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Australia, and Thailand). Brazil has climbed to first place in the world for aesthetic surgery procedures, while USA leads the world in non-surgical procedures.

than men, accounting for 87.4%, or procedures in 2018, or 2,935,909 procedures.

The most popular surgical and nonsurgical procedures for women are Breast Augmentation at 1,841,098 procedures and Botulinum Toxin at 5,344,764 procedures, respectively. The most popular surgical and nonsurgical procedures for men are Gynecomastia at 269,720 procedures and Botulinum Toxin at 752,752 procedures, respectively.

Dr. Dirk Richter, President of ISAPS comments: "It is exciting to see how fast the market is changing in the world. More and more treatments are performed with minimal invasiveness, as the figures show.”

However, he expressly warns against a filler treatment by non-doctors or untrained doctors due to the observed increasing complications worldwide.

“Although breast implants are a recurring topic in the media, this is an area with the greatest growth in the world and patients recognize the many benefits. We are seeing record numbers again this year proving that patients are taking advantage of the latest innovations in aesthetic surgery to look and feel better,” Richter notes.