Survey Shows Rising Interest in Cosmetic Procedures

    HOUSTON, TX, July 08, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A recent survey shows that people's interest in plastic surgery continues to rise, with 69% of adults surveyed saying that they would choose cosmetic work if money were not an issue. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and released in April, shows a steep increase over just five months before, when 54% of those surveyed said they would have cosmetic work done if money were not an issue. The Plastic Surgery Institute of Southeast Texas confirms that this is also true in the Houston area.

According to the survey, people expressed the most interest in tummy tucks, especially women aged 35-44. Of this group, nearly half (46%) would have the procedure if money were not an issue. Overall, 29% (40% of women and 15% of men) would have a tummy tuck, and 23 % (26%/18%) would have liposuction. Anti-aging treatments are popular among baby boomer women. One third would get wrinkle fillers (33%) or a facelift (36%).

"This is the same trend we're seeing," said plastic surgeon Dr. Leo Lapuerta. "Body contouring is the most-visited area of our website, and abdominoplasty, commonly called a tummy tuck, is our most commonly-visited procedure page."

Also interesting is that some procedures showed surprisingly little interest. For example, breast augmentation, the most popular cosmetic plastic procedure in 2009, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, with nearly 300,000 performed, was an interest for only 6% of survey respondents. Similarly, although nearly 5 million BOTOX Cosmetic injections were performed last year, only 7% of respondents said they would get BOTOX Cosmetic if money were not an issue.

Dr. Lapuerta said, "It seems there are some procedures that are on almost everybody's 'wish list' and others that are on the 'need list' of a smaller number of people."

Dr. Lapuerta also notes that many plastic surgery practices offer financing for people attempting to balance their desire for an elective procedure with their financial limitations.

About Plastic Surgery Institute of Southeast Texas

The Plastic Surgery Institute of Southeast Texas is the private practice of triple-board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Leo Lapuerta. It offers a wide variety of plastic surgery procedures such as breast enhancement, body contouring, and facial plastic surgery. Dr. Lapuerta serves patients in the Houston area at three locations: 1919 LaBranch, 11800 Astoria Boulevard, and 2360 County Road 94 in Pearland. Dr. Lapuerta is board certified in general surgery, plastic surgery, and surgery of the hand. He has hospital privileges at several area hospitals. Dr. Lapuerta is also the director of the Clinical Skin Care Center.

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