2009 International Aesthetic Trends Now Available

For the first time ever, accurate aesthetic plastic surgery statistics are available to the public. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) issued the "ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™" to surgeons in order to gauge aesthetic trends in the top 25 countries and regions for plastic surgery. The Survey represented 75% of all procedures performed in 2009.

Although the ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™ confirmed that the United States remains the country with the most procedures performed annually, there are some countries that are emerging as major centers that may be surprising. Making the top ten list are a few other countries that are not always associated with plastic surgery:
1.    United States
2.    China
3.    Brazil
4.    India
5.    Mexico
6.    Japan
7.    South Korea
8.    Germany
9.    Turkey
10.    Spain

The Survey also revealed that, contrary to popular belief, breast augmentation is not the most popular invasive procedure performed internationally. The top 5 invasive aesthetic procedures are as follows:
1.    Liposuction-18.8%
2.    Breast Augmentation-17%
3.    Blepharoplasty-13.5%
4.    Rhinoplasty-9.4%
5.    Abdominoplasty or Tummy Tuck-7.3%

As for as non-surgical procedures go, neuromodulators like Botox® top the list in popularity. Not only that, the overall number of non-surgical cosmetic treatments performed surpassed the number of surgical procedures. The top 5 non-invasive aesthetic treatments for 2009 were:
1.    Neuromodulators such as Botox® and Dysport®-32.7%
2.    Hyaluronic acid injections such as Juvederm and Radiesse-20.1%
3.    Laser hair removal-13.1%
4.    Fat grafting-5.9%
5.    IPL treatments-4.4%

Amongst other things, the Survey established that there are approximately 30,817 board certified (or national equivalent) plastic surgeons currently practicing. The number of surgical procedures performed globally in 2009 was 8,536,379, while the number of non-invasive treatments was 8,759,187.

The ISAPS Biennial Global Survey™ was created and proctored by Industry Insights, Inc., an independent research firm from Columbus, OH.  Scott Hackworth, a CPA who, along with the firm, has 15 years of experience in researching trends in aesthetic plastic surgery, led the Survey. The two-page, English-based questionnaire was administered to different international plastic surgery societies and focused on the aesthetic procedures performed in 2009.

Japan Makes Sizable Advances in the Use of Stem Cells During Fat Grafting

Fat grafting is an alternative used during soft tissue augmentation that has grown in popularity over the past few years. Although this technique has been around for over a decade, recent international advancements and the use of stem cells have dramatically increased the presence of fat grafting in the plastic surgery industry.

Fat grafting is beneficial in that it only leaves incisional scars and often has less complication then injecting dermal fillers and other foreign substances into the body. Although doctors around the world have been working hard to improve the final result of fat grafting, physicians in Japan have recently made the most important headway

Kotaro Yoshimura, M.D., associate professor of plastic surgery at the University of Tokyo, is leading the investigation into the use of stem cells of aesthetic applications. The doctor and his team recently developed a strategy called cell-assisted lipotransfer (CAL) to overcome some common issues with traditional fat grafting such as unpredictable results and low fat cell survival rates due to necrosis.

How CAL Works:
Stem cells found within adipose (fat) tissue are combined with traditionally lipoinjection. The fat removed after liposuction is split in half and stem cells from one half of the fat are removed and added to the other part of the fat. This process creates stem cell-enriched fat. Dr. Yoshimura and his colleagues found that after grafting fat, some of the cells die off and are replaced by new fat generated by the stem cells. The amount of stem cells contained in the graft is crucial in determining the final results following lipoinjection.

Dr. Yoshimura has tested the CAL process on more than 450 breast augmentation and restoration patients since 2003. The results demonstrated CAL as a safe and effective alternative for soft tissue augmentation.

How Stem Cells Are Isolated:
There are three basic steps executed during CAL: fat and stem cells are extracted from a donor site, the soft tissue is purified, and then the tissue is injected elsewhere into the body. The most difficult step in the process is isolating the stem cells from the rest of the fat cells. This can be done manually using a cell-processing room or automatically using Tissue Genesis technology.

According to Dr. Yoshimura, using stem cell-enriched fat during grafting may boost the safety and effectiveness of the traditional methods. The fat stem cells may even have a therapeutic effect, similar to bone marrow-derived stem cells, which can aid in the healing process following lipoinjection.

These advances in stem cell technology are certainly promising, however, Dr. Yoshimura stresses that the long term safety and efficacy of CAL still needs to be studied. Patients with a low BMI may also be poor candidates for fat grafting as issues may arise in harvesting enough fat and stem cells to make the procedure successful.

Adding a Boost to Your Booty

Not everyone is blessed with curves like Kim Kardashian or Scarlett Johansson. Cameron Diaz was even quoted in Marie Claire saying: “I’d love a bigger butt, more meat on my bones. I’d love to be more voluptuous…” Curvaceous celebrities like Kim and Scarlett have ignited the latest trend in plastic surgery: buttock augmentation.

There are numerous methods to naturally boosting ones backside, including everything from gluteus exercises to padded jeans. Although these methods may provide a temporary improvement, the more permanent method is through buttock augmentation via fat grafting (a.k.a. Brazilian Butt Lift). Using fat grafting, patients have fat removed via liposuction from another part of their body and injected into the buttock. The patient benefits from having two cosmetic procedures in one.

Fat transfer is in no way a new technique in plastic surgery. Fat grafting has been used for years to restore fullness to aging faces.  Recent research has found that fat also has a high level of stem cells that can be transferred through grafting. This allows the patient to have minimal volume loss after some of the fat dies off or regenerates following the procedure. Even though regeneration is possible, patients should expect to retain about 50% of the volume from their augmentation.

For slender women with low BMI, such as Cameron Diaz, you may be out of luck. The “Brazilian Butt Lift” is usually performed with the patient’s own fat, and therefore the patient must have enough fat in other parts of the body to harvest. For Delaware residents considering buttock augmentation, you should seek out a board-certified plastic surgeon with experience in fat transfer and liposuction to perform your procedure.