In 2009, plastic surgeons in the U.S., Brazil and China performed more than 1 million procedures each, with U.S. plastic surgeons topping the charts at more than 3 million total surgical and non-surgical procedures performed.

Several hundred thousand procedures were also performed by plastic surgeons in India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, however they made up a much smaller percentage of the total plastic surgery procedures performed worldwide in 2009.

Body contouring plastic surgery, including liposuction, breast augmentation, breast reduction and tummy tuck procedures were among the most popular surgical procedures last year in both the U.S. and the entire world.  Facial plastic surgery procedures, such as nose surgery and eyelid surgery, were also frequently performed by plastic surgeons internationally.

Only three cosmetic procedures addressed by ISAPS statistics in the surgical and non-surgical categories were performed in excess of 1 million times in 2009.  In the surgical category, these procedures included:

• Liposuction
• Breast augmentation
• Eyelid surgery

In the non-surgical category, these procedures included:

• Wrinkle-relaxing injectables (e.g. Botox and Dysport)
• Hyaluronic acid fillers (e.g. Restylane and Juvederm)
• Laser hair removal

Non-surgical procedures were so popular in the U.S. last year that unlike plastic surgeons in most other countries, U.S. plastic surgeons actually performed more non-surgical procedures than surgical procedures in 2009.  Other popular non-surgical procedures that were frequently performed by plastic surgeons last year included laser skin resurfacing, including Fraxel Laser treatment, as well as sclerotherapy and laser vein treatment.

Although ISAPS statistics suggest that plastic surgeons most frequently perform non-surgical injectable and laser treatments, their primary areas of expertise are generally breast surgery, body contouring, facial plastic surgery and revision surgery.  Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Bob Basu is a breast reconstruction and body sculpting expert.

PIP breast implants were found to lack an essential protective barrier, causing them to rupture more easily than most breast implants, and were filled with unapproved silicone gel that had not undergone safety tests.   

When ruptures or leaks are found in breast implants, a breast augmentation revision may be recommended to replace breast implants; however, it may not always be necessary.

Some women choose not to have revision surgery if their ruptured implants do not cause problems with breast appearance or health, while others choose to have breast explant surgery, or breast implant removal, but do not have their ruptured implants replaced.  When breast implants are removed and a breast augmentation revision is not performed, a breast lift may be performed to remove skin stretched by the breast implants.  A breast lift with implants is also an option depending on how much ptosis, or sagging, a patient has experienced since the initial breast augmentation surgery.

Unlike the PIP breast implants under recall in Europe, silicone breast implants used for breast augmentation surgery in the U.S. are filled with safe, FDA-approved silicone gel, but they may rupture due to age, implant malfunction or trauma.  Ruptures are easy to detect in saline breast implants, as the implants deflate and noticeably lose volume, while an MRI is necessary in order to detect a rupture in silicone breast implants.

If you discover your breast implants have ruptured, it is important to remain calm, as there is no immediate health risk.  Consult a highly experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon who can show you before and after photos of patients who have undergone breast revision surgery and help you decide whether breast augmentation revision or implant removal, with or without a breast lift, is right for you.

A recent study published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal (“A comparison of outcomes involving highly cohesive, form-stable breast implants from two manufacturers in patients undergoing primary breast augmentation”) compares the outcomes of each breast implant and studies the potential processes that may improve breast augmentation with the new prosthetics.

The authors evaluated data such as:

• Breast characteristics
• Patient’s quality of life
• Patient and surgeon satisfaction with outcome
• Adverse events

After breast augmentation with highly cohesive silicone gel implants, doctors followed up on patients 16 to 77 months later. “The outcome data indicate that these devices produce natural-appearing breasts with extremely low aggregate reoperation rate (4.2%), writes study author Mark Jewell M.D.  Between the two breast implant manufacturers, the study showed measurable differences in the incidence of visible implant rippling.  Read the abstract to learn more.

These procedures are very effective in restoring the shape and volume of your breasts and restoring the contouring of your abdominal area. Dr. Basu performs 1-2 mommy makeover procedures each week.

Some moms even say that after surgery their body looks better than before they had kids. These patients love the transformation, so for a surgeon it’s a satisfying procedure to perform.