Vaginal rejuvenation, pectoral implants, buttock implants and calf augmentation have been touted in the media recently as the "hot" new procedures taking plastic surgery by storm.
According to a statistics report released in which the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) tracked these procedures for the first time, the reality is quite different from the hype. These unconventional procedures are being done infrequently, when compared to mainstream cosmetic plastic surgery procedures.
"These trendy new procedures that are supposedly all the rage around the country, simply are not being performed in large numbers," said ASPS President Bruce Cunningham, MD. "We haven't seen rampant interest in these procedures in our practices and now the statistics show how few of these procedures are actually being performed. That's not to say that these procedures may not increase in popularity in the future, but right now, they are not as popular as they have been portrayed in the media."
Reports of the public's alleged growing interest in vaginal rejuvenation began in 2004. Based on these reports, ASPS tracked this and other touted procedures to verify whether or not the reality equaled the hype. In 2005, just 793 vaginal rejuvenation procedures were performed, according to ASPS statistics. Other "fringe" plastic surgery procedures tracked for the first time in 2005 were: buttock implants (542), calf augmentation (337) and pectoral implants (206).