Plastic surgeons powerless over the sagging economy — MedCity morning read, May 7, 2009

Cosmetic surgeons who can lift breasts and firm thighs admit they are powerless over a sagging economy, according to the New York Times.

But there were signs of an economic turnaround at the annual convention of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Las Vegas this week, according to the Times.

Hope is rising — along with the Dow — that the first competitor to Botox (approved last month) and revolutionary treatments like stem cell injections might reinvigorate the industry left flat by the falling economy.

The number of cosmetic procedures in the United States fell 12.3 percent last year from 2007 to just over 10.2 million, the plastic surgery society said. That represents a setback for an industry that grown steadily from 2 million procedures in 1997.

The biggest growth area for the industry has been in non-surgical procedures, such as injections of Botox — a botulinum toxin that works by numbing and relaxing facial muscles that cause wrinkles, the Times said.

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