What Sorts Of People Are Getting Liposuction?

Liposuction means literally the suction of fat

. It is a surgical procedure which uses special needles called cannulas to remove excess body fat from specific target areas. When the procedure was first invented, it seems that it was the exclusive territory of the elite, the rich and the famous, something meant for only the flashiest of Hollywood divas.

However, as time has gone on, liposuction (also called lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) has become more widespread. It has crossed boundaries of class, so that it is available for more than merely the upper crust. It has begun to cross boundaries of gender, resulting in more men getting this cosmetic surgery which originally was stereotypically seen as a woman's surgery. However, lipoplasty and cosmetic surgery have not become entirely egalitarian. There are still distinct trends in who gets these procedures. This article will explore the question of "who's getting lipoplasty now?" It takes its facts from statistics provided by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

The easiest line to draw regarding who gets lipoplasty is that of gender. In 2008, 309,692 women underwent the surgery. This is over ten times the number of men who underwent the same procedure, 30,174. Interestingly, though, lipoplasty was the most popular cosmetic surgery among men, while it was only the second most common among women. In men, lipoplasty topped the charts, followed by rhinoplasty (nose job) and Blepharoplasty (cosmetic eyelid surgery). In women, breast augmentation took the number one spot, with liposuction coming in second and blepharoplasty coming in third. 2008 marks the first time in twelve years where lipectomy was ousted as the number one most popular plastic surgery.

The next line which can easily be drawn is that of age. In 2008, the age group that received the most lipectomies was 35-50 years old. People in this age group received 49.1% of all lipoplasties performed in the United States. The next largest group was 19-34, which received 28.1%. People aged 51-64 received 20.4%, while people aged 65+ received 1.7%. The smallest demographic was people aged 18 and under, who only received 0.8% of the total number of liposuctions.

Class lines are difficult to draw, because the ASAPS did not record class or income data. However, it is certain that the development of financing plans for lipoplasty and other cosmetic surgeries marks at least some amount of shift from the upper class down into the middle classes.

While the ASAPS did not publish statistics regarding the racial or ethnic popularity of lipectomy in specific, it did publish general percentages regarding cosmetic procedures as a whole. In 2008, 79.8% of cosmetic procedures (including both surgical and non-surgical) were received by Caucasians. The next largest group was Hispanics, who made up 8%. They were followed by African-Americans, who made up 67.4% and people of Asian descent, who made up 4.1%.

by: Christian Heftel

POST COMMENT

What Makes Someone A Good Candidate For Liposuction? Why Is Liposuction So Popular? How Long Does It Take To Be Able To See Liposuction Results? How Much Will My Liposuction Cost? I Can't Decide--should I Get Liposuction Or Not? What Are My Liposuction Results Going To Look Like? Here Are Special Considerations About Inner Thigh Liposuction Is Liposuction Worth The Cost? What Are The Positive Aspects Of Having Liposuction? How Much Do Liposuctions Hurt? Why Do So Many People Get Liposuction? Which Is Better For Liposuction--local Or General Anesthetic? What Are The Facts About Liposuction?