Liposuction never really went away, but it has regained the crown as the most popular plastic surgery procedure in the United States. And its significant rise in popularity could be a telling sign of how body positivity and acceptance are evolving.
A study by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) found that liposuction was the most commonly performed procedure in 2022, up a significant 23% from 2019. The ASPS, which represents 92% of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States, reported that approximately 1.5 million cosmetic surgical procedures will be performed in 2022, of which approximately 325,000 will be liposuction.
Liposuction has long been one of the top five most popular procedures in the US, but prior to 2021 it hadn’t held the top spot since 2005. This year, it hasn’t just held on to that position, it has dug in its heels.
A 23% increase may not sound like much, but it’s actually a big jump. For comparison: Breast augmentation, the second most popular procedure, will only increase by 4% from 2019 to 2022. (After breast augmentation, tummy tucks, breast lifts and eyelid surgery round out the top five for 2022).
“I think the lipo statistics essentially reflect the post-pandemic surge,” says Gregory Greco, DO, FACS, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New Jersey who sits on the ASPS board of directors. “People either got in amazing shape or, without the motivation of gyms, had a little bit of a fitness block, and all of a sudden it starts to snowball.”
Steven Williams, a board-certified plastic surgeon and president-elect of the ASPS, points to the pandemic as a factor in the massive increase in plastic surgery in general, citing time away from the office while working remotely, more flexibility during recovery, and additional financial resources. “If you look across the board, there’s an increase in procedures,” Dr Williams explains, noting that abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) – the third most popular procedure in 2022 – is up nearly 40% from 2019. “There are a couple of things going on with liposuction
specifically,” he says. “More and more, it’s part of several combined procedures. If you’re doing a tummy tuck, a facelift, a brachioplasty [arm lift], a thigh lift, most of the time liposuction is involved.”
The rise in liposuction procedures may also be a response to the controversy and potential risks surrounding popular, less-invasive contouring treatments such as CoolSculpting. In 2021, for example, supermodel Linda Evangelista filed a lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company after she said the procedure left her “permanently disfigured”.
Julius Few, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Chicago, wasn’t surprised by liposuction’s surge last year. “Partly because of how big the issue of disappointment in non-surgical fat reduction has become, I knew there would be a return to the tried and true,” says Dr Few. “Lipo is the gold standard for a reason, and I think it will stay that way. It’s something that’s been around for over 30 years.”
Over the decades, innovation has also made liposuction more accessible, with less invasive techniques and shorter recovery times, not to mention additional technologies such as post-lipo skin tightening with radiofrequency. “You can get results with liposuction that you couldn’t have got 20 years ago,” says Dr Few. “When you put it all together, it’s a powerful proposition: ‘I’ve got two weeks, I want results, and I don’t want to have to do anything else major after that. It becomes a compelling option for a lot of people.
