A February 1 article on Medical Express reports on the boom in plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures currently ongoing in Europe, the U.S., Brazil, Japan and numerous other nations. The article states that some 8.6 billion Euros were reportedly spent by European doctors and clinics in 2016, while the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reported that over $15 billion was spent by U.S. patients in 2016 on such treatments as buttock augmentation using transferred body fat. The article adds that Asia in general, and specifically China and India, are currently the worlds’ fastest growing markets for cosmetic treatments. We think that the increasing popularity of procedures is easy to explain – they consistently provide outcomes that make patients happy.

While some celebrity gossip writers might still refer to “accusations” of plastic surgery, mean-spirited criticism has mostly given way to a wide acceptance of procedures ranging from rhinoplasty and facelifts to Botox and other non-surgical forms of facial rejuvenation. Given that BHP is based in the entertainment industry‘s “company town” of LA, we naturally have many patients who are involved in the entertainment industry. However, a surprising number of those patients actually work behind the camera and are simply trying to stay relevant in a notoriously youth-obsessed business – like people many in other fields. Moreover, the word is out that these procedures are for women and men from all walks of life, and our clientele includes accountants, office assistants, teachers, construction workers and a great many others whose only involvement in the entertainment industry is watching Netflix.

While some procedures, such as Botox, are developments that arose in recent decades, the majority of plastic surgeries and cosmetic treatments have been widely available to patients since the mid-20^th century and some are more than a hundred years old. With each procedure, leading plastic surgeons have been learning how to make treatments safer and more effective, to the point where recovery times have often been significantly reduced. Moreover, a growing number of “lunch time” cosmetic treatments require essentially no down time at all.