More men opting for cosmetic surgery: Report

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The surgical procedures that men opted for the most are facelifts, liposuction and ear surgery, statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) said.

Men in the US underwent more than 1.1 million cosmetic procedures in 2010, a two per cent increase from previous year.

"The growth in cosmetic surgical procedures for men may be a product of our aging baby boomers who are now ready to have plastic surgery," ASPS President Phillip Haeck said.
Facelifts for men rose 14 per cent in 2010 while male liposuction increased 7 per cent.
Use of Botox by men saw a 9 per cent increase in 2010 over the previous year, while ear surgery increased by 11 per cent.

ASPS said minimally-invasive procedures such as Botox and soft tissue fillers work only to a point.

However, with age and as "gravity takes over", surgical procedures that lift the skin are necessary in order to show significant improvement, Haeck said.

Among the fastest-growing cosmetic procedures that men opt for are ear surgery, soft tissue fillers, breast reduction, eyelid surgery, laser hair removal and laser treatment of leg veins.

Another trend plastic surgeons see in male plastic surgery is the type of patient seeking their services.

Baby boomers who are now reaching retirement age are the new face of the male plastic surgery trend.

"They want to look good. So when they have the financial means to do it, they are ready to do it now," ASPS Member Surgeon Stephen Baker said.

Unlike celebrities and high profile men, who are more likely to opt for cosmetic surgery, Baker said "average guys" and "men's men" were ready to go under the knife.

Other cosmetic surgical procedures that were popular among the men are nose reshaping, hair transplantation and minimally-invasive procedures including chemical peel and soft tissue fillers.

However, women still got more plastic surgery done in 2010 as compared to men. Women received 91 per cent of all cosmetic procedures, totalling 11.5 million.

Breast augmentation was the top reason for women to go under the knife.
In 2010, nearly 300,000 women opted to increase their bust size, a 2 per cent growth from 2009 and a 40 per cent increase in the last 10 years.

Liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tick, Botox and laser hair removal are the other most popular procedures among women.