As the pandemic dragged on, demand for facial plastic surgery continued to skyrocket, according to annual survey results from AAFPRS.
Results from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the world’s largest association of facial plastic surgeons, 2021 member survey saw catapulting demand for facial plastic surgery and aesthetic procedures as in-person events and face-to- face socialisation resumed, despite lingering pandemic concerns.
A staggering 83 percent of AAFPRS members say 75 percent or more of their work is facial plastic surgery, up from 75 percent of surgeons reporting on the trend in 2020.
The central thread of the results intimates that after two years of cancelled plans and over-analysing their faces on ZOOM, people are ready to invest in self-improvement, regain confidence and shake off the sense of languishing dread that has dominated the collective consciousness throughout the pandemic.
‘After lockdowns ended and vaccinations rolled out, our patients who had been postponing reconstructive work, upkeep, maintenance or surgery were eager to schedule treatments to help them feel refreshed, confident and ready to take on work, events, playdates – all of those things that were previously paused. Plus, with more time still being spent at home, there was less concern about the recovery time for surgical treatments,’ said AAFPRS President Corey S. Maas, MD.
The now culturally ingrained desire to look better in selfies also continues to trend up, with 77 percent of members reporting this as a driving factor for patients – up 35 percent overall since the AAFPRS first identified the ‘selfie-awareness’ trend in 2016.
As it became apparent that mask- wearing wasn’t going away fast, more and more patients sought eyelid procedures to look less tired, as noted by 73 percent of surgeons (up 17 percent from 2020).
Millennial Takeover Continues and The Gender Gap Inches Closer
Patients age 56 or older represent a lower percentage of overall procedures in 2021, perhaps due to concerns about COVID-19. The most common surgical procedure among patients under age 34 is rhinoplasty, which remains consistent with previous years.
Women continue to be the most likely patients for facial plastic surgery, but the industry is slowly becoming more balanced. Blepharoplasty and neurotoxins are trending towards more balance between genders, with a lower percentage of surgeons indicating these procedures are performed on ‘mostly females’.
The top procedures performed most often on women in 2021 include neurotoxins (63 percent), fillers (57 percent), and rhinoplasty (62 percent). Hair transplantation is the only procedure for which men far surpass women, and is gaining popularity. In 2021, surgeons were almost five times more likely to indicate that hair transplantation was a top procedure for males, compared to 2020. The top procedures for male patients are rhinoplasty (79 percent), neurotoxins (58 percent) and blepharoplasty (42 percent).
Lip Lifts & Laser On The Rise
Lip lifts, a new category for the 2021 survey, were performed by at least 70 percent of AAFPRS in 2021. This could point to growing filler fatigue as patients veer away from the pillowy, overfilled ‘reality TV lips’ to other options.
The demand for laser treatments is also up over 10 percent from 2021 vs 2020, indicating that healthy-looking, clear and even- toned skin remains a patient priority, as the ways in which, and how often, we wear makeup has evolved.
Demand for facelifts, neck lifts and brow lifts are also significantly up from previous years, further supporting the AAFPRS’ theory that more schedule flexibility, ability for downtime and masking, all likely have an influence on patient pandemic behaviours. AMP
The Numbers
According to AAFPRS members, the total number of surgical and non-surgical facial plastic surgery treatments is up dramatically. An estimated 1.4 million surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in the US in the past year, with plastic surgeons performing an average of 600 more procedures than they did in 2020, a 40 percent increase.
Furthermore, 83 percent of AAFPRS surgeons saw an increase in bookings over the course of the last year (up from 70 percent from 2020). Surgical procedures (rhinoplasty, facelift, blepharoplasty) are the most common procedures as part of this upsurge, but the demand for non-surgical treatments grew as well.
Significant Increases In Face, Breast, Body Surgery In 2021
The Aesthetic Society (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery) has also released its annual statistics. The data demonstrates a significant increase for face, breast and body procedures. Overall, aesthetic body procedures, including abdominoplasty, buttock augmentation and liposuction, increased by 63% since 2020. Breast procedures such as breast augmentation, augmentation/ breast lift and breast lift/reductions were up 48%, and face procedures such as brow lifts and face lifts increased 54% last year.
The data illustrates a possible effect of life amid the global pandemic, with many Aesthetic Society members attributing the ubiquity of video meetings and more downtime to patients undergoing more surgical face and body procedures.
Key findings of the 2021 Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Statistics:
- Surgical procedures increased 54% and non-surgical was up 44%.
- The average plastic surgeon performed 320 surgical procedures in 2021, compared with 220 in 2020.
- On average, the cost of a surgical procedure increased 6% in 2021, and the cost of a non-surgical procedure increased 1%.
- Women accounted for approximately 94% of all procedures.
- There were 365,000 breast augmentations performed in 2021 (+44%). In addition, 148,000 women had implants removed and replaced (+32% from 2020), and 71,000 had their implants removed and not replaced (+47%).
- Surgical procedures accounted for 69% of all revenue, despite being just 21% of total procedures.
