It appears that the economic slow-down in the US has hit the Cosmetic Surgery Industry, with several surgeons at the meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons saying they had seen a noted reduction in the number of patients looking for surgery. The drop is across a number of disciplines including breast implants and corrective eye surgery.

Whilst slightly anecdotal, the gossip hints at wider problems across America with consumer spending dropping, possibly a pre-cursor to a recession.

Last year Americans spend around $11 billion on cosmetic surgeon fees alone. Cosmetic surgery generally isn’t covered by insurance policies meaning patients will need some other form of finance in order to cover their plastic surgery either in the form of cash or credit. It appears that most of the slow-down in the industry has hit the larger operations rather than the less costly and loss invasive procedures such as Botox and dermabrasion.

It is possible that the decline towards the end of this year is down to a natural cycle many patients choose to go under the knife in the first few months of the year, with many not choosing to go under the knife so close to Christmas in case they do not recover in time for the festive period. However, the industry has grown so much in the past few years that it is nearly impossible to tell whether the current decline is down to an annual cycle or not, and it is also difficult to say whether the decline is a trend or not. However, with consumer spending in the US declining, it would be a surprise if cosmetic surgeries find a downturn in their businesses.