For the first time on record, Americans spent more than 13.5 billion dollars on combined (surgical and nonsurgical) aesthetic procedures in a single calendar year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). The total reflects a 1.5-billion-dollar increase from 2014. Surgical procedures accounted for 58% of the total expenditures, surpassing the 8-billion-dollar mark for the first time ever, and nonsurgical procedures accounted for 42% of the total expenditures, surpassing the 5-billion-dollar mark for the first time ever. “Our industry’s growth is considerable, but not at all surprising,” states James C. Grotting, MD, President of ASAPS. “It reflects a healthy and robust economy wherein many people can afford to, and want to invest in themselves. As editor Joel Stein aptly pointed out last year in TIME Magazine’s article, Nip. Tuck. Or Else., more people now perceive aesthetic enhancements and procedures as essential. I personally believe the motivating factors for that are varied, but remaining competitive in the workforce is certainly a common factor. Youth is a commodity, and people are investing in themselves to maintain a younger, healthier appearance,” Grotting explains. ASAPS’ data also reflects emerging and changing trends from previous years, including:  Breast lifts replacing rhinoplasty as the 5th most popular procedure for the year, (with liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck and eyelid surgery in the 1st – 4th places respectively) Fat transfer to the face, (a new category for ASAPS this year) instantly landed in the top 10 surgical procedures in the number 9 slot. Nonsurgical skin tightening jumped from 9th to 7th most popular procedure in the nonsurgical category, while also securing the 5th spot for most popular procedures among men, replacing microdermabrasion in the top 5 for males. Labiaplasty, still considered a ‘new’ procedure, saw another increase in 2015, (16%) as did buttock augmentation, with a 21% increase in implants and fat transfer combined, and a 32% increase in buttock lifts.  The two most popular injectables year-over-year, (botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid) both saw continued growth, with botulinum toxin, (BOTOX, Dysport and Xeomin) surpassing 4 million procedures performed and hyaluronic acid, (Juvederm Ultra, Ultra Plus, Voluma, Perlane, Restylane, Belotero) surpassing the 2 million procedures performed mark for the first time this year as well.  Daniel C. Mills, MD, President-Elect states, “Ever-popular procedures, including liposuction and breast augmentation, also saw growth this year as the first and second most popular surgical procedures overall, accounting for nearly 40% percent of the surgical procedures performed, demonstrating that the power and permanence of the knife continues to dominate the plastic surgery marketplace.” To obtain a full copy of ASAPS’ latest statistics, including a brand new PDF book containing press-ready infographics, please visit http://www.surgery.org/media/statistics.   About ASAPS The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), is recognized as the world’s leading organization devoted entirely to aesthetic plastic surgery and cosmetic medicine of the face and body.  ASAPS is comprised of over 2,600 Plastic Surgeons; Active Members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (USA) or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and have extensive training in the complete spectrum of surgical and nonsurgical aesthetic procedures. International Active Members are certified by equivalent boards of their respective countries. All members worldwide adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and must meet stringent membership requirements. About the ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank ASAPS, working with an independent research firm, compiled the 19-year national data for procedures performed 1997-2015. A paper-based questionnaire was mailed to 30,000 board-certified physicians. An online version of the questionnaire was also available.  A total of 844 physicians returned questionnaires, of which 103 were retired or otherwise inactive during 2015.  Final figures have been projected to reflect nationwide statistics. Though the confidence intervals change by procedure, depending on the grouping’s sample size and the response variance, the overall survey portion of this research has a standard error of +/- 3.56% at a 95% level of confidence.