A survey this spring of more than 600 plastic surgeons by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that almost 53 percent said the downturn in the economy has had an adverse impact on plastic surgery. But at the same time, this economic downturn has given a rise to new, less expensive options. Earlier I spoke with a local plastic surgeon who talked about the benefits of non-surgical procedures.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Americans spent more than 4.7-billlion dollars for non-surgical procedures in 2007 and the trend is growing. Tallahassee plastic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Rawlings, says in the first six months of this year he has seen a 35 percent increase in revenue from non-surgical procedures. He says the current economy is definitely having an impact.
"People don't have discretionary money that they used to, I also think it has to do with fundamentals, how we as plastic surgeon view what is youthful," said Dr. Jeffrey Rawlings, M.D., FACS.
Dr. Rawlings says loss of volume in the face is one the early signs of facial aging. It's not just sagging skin. It's more like deflating a balloon. But now with the use of lazers and fillers, doctors can give back that youthful shape.
"We have fillers now like Sculptra that we can use to restore that lost volume and by inflating that balloon we have a lifting effect," said Dr. Rawlings.
So without drastic surgical procedures, that can be very expensive and cause you to take weeks off of work, patients are seeing dramatic results for less with little or no downtime.
"I kinda felt like my cheeks were deflating and now I feel like I look like I just got back from vacation, more rested and happy," said Liz Amsellem, patient.
And the Sculptra injections Liz had today in her cheeks will last for about two and a half years.
Dr. Rawlings emphasizes that while some of these procedures can take less than thirty minutes, they're still medical procedures and need to be performed by a doctor and that you do your research and get an experienced physician. As for the cost one injection of Botox is 50 dollars, one injection of Sculptra is $175.
