More men, baby-boomers opting for face, chest surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Despite many Americans starting to feel an economic pinch, the amount spent on cosmetic surgery continues to rise, with more men and baby-boomers paying to keep wrinkles at bay, new annual figures show.

Statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that spending on cosmetic surgery in the United States rose 9 percent to $12.4 billion in 2007 .

During the year almost 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed which was up 7 percent from 2006 and a jump of 59 percent from 2000 but most of these -- 10 million -- were minimally-invasive procedures like an injection of Botox that that is used to smooth out wrinkles.

The numbers of surgical cosmetic procedures remained unchanged from 2006, at about 1.8 million procedures with the most popular breast enlargement, up 6 percent to 348,000, followed by liposuction, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery and tummy tucks.

Overall the figures showed that plastic surgery procedures of the face and chest were popular among both women and men in 2007.

While breast enlargements rose 6 percent, pectoral implants for men increased 8 percent and male breast reduction increased 7 percent.

"It is not surprising that the highly visible focal points of the face and chest would interest both women and men seeking plastic surgery," said ASPS President Richard A. D'Amico in a statement.

"However, while 91 percent of plastic surgery procedures are performed on women and 9 percent are performed on men, it is interesting to see the rate of increase is comparable in both."

The ASPS said minimally invasive cosmetic surgery rose 9 percent over the year, with Botox remaining the most popular procedure with 4.6 million treatments, up 13 percent from 2006.

The use of Botox rose 14 percent for women and 4 percent for men.

"Increases in facelifts and cosmetic minimally-invasive facial procedures were also sizeable in the boomer age groups, which is anticipated," said D'Amico.

A total of 5.1 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were conducted in 2007, down 2 percent from 2006.

The top five reconstructive procedures were tumor removal, laceration repair, scar revision, hand surgery and breast reduction.

"We wish the number of reconstructive plastic surgery procedures was waning because fewer people are getting sick or injured," said D'Amico. "Rather, we think it has to do with extenuating circumstances like insurers denying claims and stating medically necessary procedures are cosmetic."

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world, representing more than 6,700 physician members.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Patricia Reaney)