Plastic Surgery Trends Around the World

 

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. What we consider attractive in the United States may not be considered so attractive in England or Egypt or Brazil. So naturally, the popularity of beauty treatments – and plastic surgery procedures – varies from country to country as well.

Here in the United States, we not only get the most plastic surgery (about 18 percent of all procedures on Earth), but there are also several plastic surgery procedures you can almost always rely on being the most popular among U.S. patients. It may not come as much of a surprise to learn that year after year, the most popular procedure among American women is breast augmentation. In fact, breast augmentation procedures in America account for about 20 percent of all breast augmentation procedures on the planet! Breast augmentation is followed by other body procedures such as liposuction, abdominoplasty and butt augmentation (or butt-lift).

The country with the second highest rate of plastic surgery procedures is Brazil. Famous for their creation of the increasingly popular “Brazilian Butt-Lift,” the No. 1 plastic surgery procedure in Brazil is surprisingly not a butt-lift, but breast augmentation. The second and third most popular procedures are face-lifts and abdominoplasties, respectively. It is estimated that 12 percent of all plastic surgery procedures in the world are done in Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro being the country’s plastic surgery capital.

In third place, Japan leads the way in blepharoplasties, or eyelid surgeries, designed to make the eyes look wider and more open. On Asian patients, the goal of a blepharoplasty is to create a natural crease in the upper eyelid when the eyes are open. For Western patients, blepharoplasties can be used to firm up sagging eyelids that make patients look tired and older.

The country with the fourth highest rate of plastic surgery is Italy, where the No. 1 most popular procedure is also eyelid surgery, followed by facial fat grafting, rhinoplasty, face-lifts and ear surgery. Interestingly, none of the top eight most popular surgeries in Italy occur below the neck.

Finally, Mexico has the fifth highest rates of plastic surgery, with just under 4 percent of all procedures worldwide. In Mexico, the most common procedure is rhinoplasty, followed by abdominoplasty, breast-lift and blepharoplasty. Mexico’s place on the list is especially important because the country has become a popular spot for destination or travel cosmetic surgery, meaning many patients from around the globe travel to Mexico specifically to undergo plastic surgery procedures, thanks to the country’s reputation for much lower costs. While this can certainly save money up front, travel plastic surgery can be extremely dangerous and is not recommended.

It is always interesting to see how we measure up to other countries when it comes to plastic surgery and other cultural differences, but for your safest bet (and your best results) stick with a board-certified surgeon like Dr. Bruce Chau, right here in the United States.