HANOVER, New Hampshire, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) has released the results of the third annual statistical analysis:  Global Study of Aesthetic/Cosmetic Surgery Procedures Performed in 2011.  The outcome is now posted on the ISAPS website.  Comparative results of the 2010 and 2011 surveys are available at www.isaps.org/isaps-global-statistics.html.

The 2012 study invited approximately 20,000 plastic surgeons to participate.  In addition, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP) assisted with this year's ISAPS study.  Results are projected to reflect international statistics and are exclusively based on the estimated number of plastic surgeons in each country and the respondent sample.

Results reveal a hierarchy of countries with the most surgical and non-surgical aesthetic/cosmetic procedures performed by board certified (or the equivalent) plastic surgeons in 2011.  Several summaries provided on the ISAPS website include tables showing the number of surgeons and procedures by country.  Caution is urged when observing year‐to‐year comparisons, because studies such as this can experience substantial variances within specific procedures. The pool of responding physicians varies from year to year and the sample sizes for specific countries may significantly fluctuate between years.

Procedural Frequency Shows Modest Variation
Lipoplasty remains the most performed procedure, representing 19.9% of total surgical procedures, while Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox and Dysport) leads with 38.1% among non-surgical procedures.  The popularity of surgical procedures varied by country.  The United States, Brazil, China, Japan, and Italy ranked as the top five most dominant countries for surgical procedures. 

Grand Totals 
The ISAPS surveyreports several important statistics with regard to the total number of board certified (or national equivalent) plastic surgeons practicing globally, estimated to be 32,000. These figures do not take into account surgical and non-surgical procedures performed by medical professionals and others who are not plastic surgeons.

Methodology
Thesurvey was compiled, tabulated, and analyzed by Industry Insights, Inc. (www.industryinsights.com) an independent research firm based in Columbus, Ohio in the United States.  The survey leader was Scott Hackworth, CPA and research analyst who has conducted various forms of research on trends in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for over 15 years.  Participants in the survey completed a two-page, English language questionnaire that focused on the number of surgical and non-surgical procedures they performed in 2011. Final figures have been projected to reflect international statistics and are based exclusively on the estimated number of plastic surgeons in each country.  To aid in tallying the total number of plastic surgeons, representatives of National Societies provided the counts for over 90% of the 32,000 total estimated plastic surgeons.  A formula was used to estimate numbers in non-reporting countries based on their Gross Domestic Product and Population.

Journalists Please Note:  We appreciate your citing the ISAPS website, a non-commercial, information based, consumer service site, so that others may see full details of the ISAPS Worldwide Survey.   www.isaps.org

The forty-three year old International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is the largest international society of individual plastic surgeons with 2,360 current members in 93 countries. Surgeons undergo a strict application process to determine their qualifications to join the society.  The ISAPS mission is twofold: the continuing education of plastic surgeons in latest techniques in the field of aesthetic (cosmetic) surgery and medicine - and the promotion of patient safety.