Breast augmentation surgeries grew by 18 percent from 2005 to 2006 says the
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
, a surge the group attributes to the FDA’s 2006 approval of silicone breast implants. That’s good news for the state’s 149 plastic surgeons. Over 380,000 of the surgeries were performed nationally last year, making it, for the first time, the top surgical procedure for women. Demand for bigger bustlines is just one part of that big business boom: Americans spent $12.2 billion on cosmetic procedures last year, with $7.6 billion of it on surgical ones. Over the 10 years since ASAPS has kept statistics, the number of cosmetic procedures performed annually has increased 446 percent.
