In kindergarten economics classes we learned that a decrease in demand would affect liposuction prices in favor of the buyer. This doesn’t appear to be the case as prices for liposuction surgery have seen insignificant to absolutely no drop. The truth of the matter is that liposuction prices, along with other plastic surgery procedures are quite stable in price due to the premium that a specialty skill such as plastic surgery commands. Meanwhile, the cost of plastic surgery will only get higher with the new tax on cosmetic enhancement procedures that will go into effect in the beginning January next year.
Despite the economic down turn, not all industries are suffering. The cosmetic surgery market as a whole has not been hit as hard and is actually still experiencing positive growth rates. Within the industry however there is much upheaval. The number of liposuction procedures has plummeted 19% in 2008 from 2007 according to a survey by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Abdominalplasty was hit with an 18% decline and breast enhancement saw a 12% drop. So how has to plastic surgery market kept afloat? Other procedures such as laser skin-resurfacing and Botox injection have increased by 15 and 8 percent respectfully.
The change in the type of request is not really a big surprise. The high cost of liposuction prices and other large procedures such as laser liposuction have kept prospective patients away or turned them toward smaller, more affordable alternatives. Older women who can afford to pay for the procedures will continue to receive their injectables and chemical peels. Younger women make up a large portion of breast augmentation patients which helps explain the drop in that particular area. They also rely more heavily on credit to finance their plastic surgery procedure even treatments like breast reduction liposuction for enhanced shaping. The tightening of credit by banks definitely had an effect on the number of younger patients.
Liposuction prices are expected to remain more or less on par with previous year figures unless something drastic happens. Expect a surge once the economy recovers since many patients who could afford the costs are simply putting off the procedure because of uncertainty about their job and income source. Once unemployment relents back to normal numbers and the sideline patients feel security about their finances again, we can expect them to jump in all at once. It will be a busy time for plastic surgeons. Let’s just hope that the surge is not enough to warrant a spike in liposuction prices.
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