Liposuction and Plastic Surgery Information - Ethnic Cosmetic Surgery on the rise

Ethnic Cosmetic Surgery on the rise

Friday, 24 November 2006

The surge in the number of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians choosing cosmetic surgery is creating a specialised niche in the industry, with particular features shaping demanded by ethnic consumers that differ markedly from those chosen by Caucasian patients.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Hispanics, African-Americans and Asians had nearly 2.2 million procedures performed last year, an increase of 65% on the previous year. The breakdown by ethnic category was:

Ethnic Minority	\| Number of Procedures
Hispanics	921,000
African-Americans	769,000
Asians	437,000

"We expect those numbers to continue to grow at a fast rate," said Dr. Julius Few, a plastic surgeon and associate professor at Northwestern University, who plans to publish research next year on how ethnic skin ages.

"Because of the demand, more surgeons are interested in how to treat ethnic skin," he said. "We are at the beginning of a real sub-specialty interest."

The growth in demand is said to be fuelled by two factors; a rising level of affluence among these ethnic groups, and the growing familiarity and popularisation of cosmetic surgery through TV shows and media coverage.

"They (ethnic groups) look at the same things you do. They look at the same magazines, the same Sears Roebuck catalogues," said Dr. Fred Stucker, speaking at a conference of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery conference in Toronto. "And those people that they have in (the magazines) are what we consider beautiful, or the gold standard for being pretty."

While some media commentators have spoken of the danger of the Michael Jackson syndrome, doctors report that most ethnic patients are seeking mere modification of ethnic features, rather than their removal.

"It's more to get rid of some of the excessive features that they don't like about, for example, their nose," said Dr. Richard Rival, a rhinoplasty specialist of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

"Like someone who is of African background may have a very large nose, with wide flaring nostrils and they may want to reduce that a little...make it a little less African."

Some doctors believe that the skin of African-Americans ages slower and differently to that of Caucasians, and consequently non-invasive procedures such as dermabrasion, laser resurfacing and Botox, while still popular, have not seen the dramatic rise in popularity as the invasive procedures of liposuction, breast augmentation and tummy tucks.

However, there are certain marked differences between the procedures sought by ethnic patients and those sought by Caucasian customers. Ethnic patients have a higher demand for nose reshaping, seeking to build up the bridge of the nose, and to reduce the flaring of nostrils and the width of the nose tip, while Asian patients frequently seek out eyelid surgery, opening the eye up more with the addition of a crease above the eyelid.

Ethnic patients face other complications from cosmetic surgery, such as experiencing hyperpigmentation, where the skin tissue becomes darker in patches.

The most requested cosmetic surgery procedures, by race are: