This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letter  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Cosmetic Surgery/ Procedures  • Nasal Surgery  • Alert me on articles by topic

Regional and Temporal Trends

Ramsey Alsarraf, MD, MPH; Wayne F. Larrabee, Jr, MD; Calvin M. Johnson, Jr, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2001;3:44-47.

Objective  To describe the geographic and temporal trends in cosmetic facial plastic surgery procedure costs and frequency during the last decade and to evaluate factors that may influence changes in the demand for cosmetic procedures.

Methods  A survey sent to every (N = 1727) active fellow, member, or associate of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery assessing the costs and frequency of 4 common cosmetic facial plastic surgery procedures (ie, face-lift, brow lift, blepharoplasty, and rhinopasty) for 1999 and 1989.

Results  The annual frequency of the aging-face procedures (ie, face-lift, brow lift, and blepharoplasty) have increased 41% over the last decade while rhinoplasties have declined slightly (18%). Each of the procedures studied have increased in cost since 1989; however, only face-lifts have increased at a rate greater than inflation during this period (average surgeon's fees, $3154-$4582). Although the average cost of each of these procedures is stable across US geographic areas, there seem to be fewer aging-face procedures being performed in the East (represented largely by New England and the northeastern states) compared with the Midwest, South, and West (P.03), while rhinoplasty frequency across these regions is essentially unchanged. In addition to variables such as age, years in practice, and degree of marketing, the strongest correlates with increased cosmetic procedure frequency were the costs of these procedures (P.008).

Conclusions  Although the cost and frequency of cosmetic facial plastic surgery procedures continues to rise across the United States, there are interesting differences in these trends between different regions and procedure type during the last decade. There also seems to be an association between increased cost and increased frequency of these cosmetic procedures.

From the Hedgewood Surgical Center, New Orleans, La (Drs Alsarraf and Johnson); and the Larrabee Center for Facial Plastic Surgery, Seattle, Wash (Dr Larrabee).

RELATED LETTER

Economics of Aesthetic Surgery
Lloyd M. Krieger and Ramsey Alsarraf
Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2002;4(3):200.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

RELATED ARTICLE

Outcomes Research in Facial Plastic Surgery
Ramsey Alsarraf and Wayne F. Larrabee, Jr
Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2001;3(1):7.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Economics of Aesthetic Surgery
Krieger and Alsarraf
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2002;4:200-200.
FULL TEXT  

Cosmetic Surgery Procedures as Luxury Goods: Measuring Price and Demand in Facial Plastic Surgery
Alsarraf et al.
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2002;4:105-110.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Measuring Cosmetic Facial Plastic Surgery Outcomes: A Pilot Study
Alsarraf et al.
Arch Facial Plast Surg 2001;3:198-201.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT