Summer is approaching and Italians, both men and women, are increasingly resorting to plastic surgery: according to data from Isaps (International Society for Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery), in 2018 there were over 1.009.200 cosmetic surgery procedures, a significant increase compared to 2016.
In detail, of the total procedures analyzed, surgical practices were 31,8% (equal to 320.510), in line with 2016. Non-surgical treatments instead (68,2% of the total) increased by 8%, with 688.690 procedures in 2018, against the 633.000 recorded two years earlier. Numbers that, with the summer season now upon us, tend to increase with a series of interventions among the most requested.
Breast augmentation remains in pole position with 54.000 procedures performed in 2019 and a 10% increase in 2020; followed by blepharoplasty: +24% in two years, with 53.000 procedures in 2019. Liposuction again: 45.600 estimated procedures, but down 11% compared to 2016. Finally, facial lipofilling (25.300) and abdominoplasty, with 23.000 procedures recorded in 2019. Rhinoplasty remains in first place in the ranking of plastic surgery procedures for men.
Thus, the trends of 2020 signal an increase in the use of minimally invasive aesthetic medicine practices, such as fillers and rejuvenation procedures, which have increasingly interested both the very young and the over 70s, especially for the face. Aesthetic touch-ups know no crisis, not even in difficult times like the Covid that has just passed. Those who want a "touch-up" are especially 18-year-olds, but also 70-year-olds, also thanks to the effect of social media and influencers who are popular online. An increase is also recorded for interventions on the buttocks and rear end to be performed both with prostheses, to be repeated after 5-10 years, and with fat and hyaluronic acid infiltrations, however only suitable for small volumes.
But with the post-Covid summer and the desire to reduce the effects of the mask on the face, among the greatest requests are those concerning the face. Especially for facial rejuvenation, there is a clear prevalence of use of botulinum toxin (274.000 practices) and hyaluronic acid (252.000).
Aesthetic practices that involve the use of technologies are also increasingly popular: the total number of treatments with biomedical equipment has risen to 118.000. The demand for permanent hair removal treatments with laser and pulsed light is also increasing, marking an 85% increase. But specialists recommend paying particular attention to the quality and professionalism in this type of intervention after the lockdown. «The latest innovations in the field of treatments with minimally invasive techniques – says Francesco D'Andrea, national president of SICPRE (Italian Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery) – are represented by regenerative biological methods, which replace the use of drugs and substances of synthetic origin». «These – continues D'Andrea – are advanced technologies that exploit the regenerative capacity of cellular aggregates, called micrografts, taken from the individual and immediately reinjected into the areas of the body to be treated, in order to repair damaged or simply aged tissue».
Article published on 2 July 2020 - 17:21
