Cosmetic Surgery No Longer The Domain Of The Rich and Famous

More ethnic patients -- Hispanics, African Americans and Asians -- are seeking cosmetic work, and couples as well as parents and offspring are making it a family affair. Men make up 16 percent of cosmetic-surgery patients, and they recorded a 156 percent rise in tummy tucks, a 729 percent jump in buttock lifts and a 458 percent spurt in lip augmentation since 2000.

From liposuction to breast augmentations to face-lifts, fat-purging, age-defying, beautifying surgery is booming. Last year, reports the 6,000-member American Society of Plastic Surgeons, some 1.8 million of those surgical procedures were performed, up 4 percent from 2004.

Now it's all out there for everyone to see. Cosmetic plastic surgery is mainstream middle class, as accessible as a credit card or checkbook, as familiar as a salon facial.
-http://health.theledger.com/