In August, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) released its first-ever detailed compilation of worldwide aesthetic plastic surgery statistics. According to the ISAPS, this marks the first time that “reliable” statistics on the number of surgeons and procedures worldwide have been made available. The survey showed that  the countries with the top numbers of surgeons were:

1.    United States

2.    China

3.    Brazil

4.    India

5.    Mexico

The same five countries had the top number of procedures, with the only difference being that Brazil was second and China third. The USA leads in both the number of plastic surgeons and procedures, having 17.5% of the world total of each, which confirms the conventional wisdom that Americans are plastic-surgery crazy. But to dispel this misconception requires only that we adjust the statistics on a per-capita basis, something the ISAPS neglected to do. Utilizing information from the CIA World Factbook, I have diligently calculated the per-capita figures. According to the  ISAPS and the CIA, the countries with the highest number of plastic surgeons and procedures (both surgical and non-surgical) per 100,000 persons were:

1.    South Korea (2.63 surgeons performing 1359 procedures)

2.    Brazil (1.92 surgeons performing 1245 procedures)

3.    Portugal (1.87 surgeons performing 1195 procedures)

4.    USA (1.86 surgeons performing 986 procedures)

5.    Taiwan (1.57 surgeons performing 810 procedures)

I had expected Brazil to be number one, but  I had not anticipated the high level of demand for plastic surgery in South Korea–it sort of flies below the radar. Also surprising is how far China fell in the rankings, from second place to second-to-last of the 23 countries  with complete data. So much for the highly-publicized plastic surgery “boom” in the country.

Another thing the adjusted rankings show is that plastic surgery is a worldwide phenomenon, not just an American obsession. Another thing we share with the rest of the world is the most popular procedures. Liposuction and breast augmentation were the two most popular surgical procedures in every country where popular procedures were reported.

If you are one of the millions of people worldwide who are interested in plastic surgery as a way to improve your appearance and/or self-confidence, you can get world-class plastic surgery right here in Dallas. Please contact Dr. Vasdev Rai at the Cosmetic Surgical Center today to schedule your consultation.