Is plastic surgery becoming the new “normal” for Americans interested in looking and feeling their best? In other parts of the globe, cosmetic surgical treatments have long been viewed as playing an important role in any proper self-maintenance routine. Earlier this year, National Public Radio (NPR) reported on plastic surgery numbers in Brazil, a country where even women of moderate means are saving up to invest in extensive cosmetic procedures so that they can look and feel their absolute best. Meanwhile, a survey in South Korea found that one in five women in Seoul have undergone some kind of plastic surgery, according to a 2012 article in The Economist.

Trending Data for Normal Surgeries

Here in the United States, it appears that we are also beginning to embrace plastic surgery as an established and accepted cultural norm, with Americans spending more than $12 billion last year on cosmetic procedures — $7 billion on surgical ones. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the number of women having plastic surgery in this country has increased 471 percent since 1997, and the number of male patients has grown 273 percent.

What’s Causing this Change?

We have previously discussed on this blog how “selfies” may be contributing to the rise in plastic surgery procedures. However, a number of other factors are likely also at work.

“Technological advances, less-invasive procedures, greater accessibility are making aesthetic procedures, surgical and nonsurgical, far more attractive to the public at-large,” Dr. Jack Fisher, ASAPS president, said in a media statement earlier this year. “Further, the rebounding economy is encouraging people to start investing in themselves once again.”

If you are ready to invest in yourself, contact The Lett Center in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Dr. Dwayne Lett, M.D., is a board certified plastic surgeon with the skills and experience necessary to help you get the results you desire.