Surgery and market shifts

According to ReportLinker and other credible research organizations, the cosmetic services market would reach $40 billion or more by 2013 with a compounded growth rate of 5.2%. Cosmetic surgery product demand (eg, dermal fillers and laser dermal resurfacing) created by manufacturers and suppliers will drive this movement. In addition, a growing list of less-invasive procedures, products, and home devices is also expected to create new challenges and consumer awareness regarding the benefits of seeking a specialist for the consumer’s facial surgery needs.

The current frenetic shifts in the cosmetic surgery marketplace resemble the changes that reshaped refractive surgery (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis [LASIK]) for solo ophthalmologists. The expense of the requisite technology forced the ophthalmologists who provided LASIK surgery to aggressively advertise, resulting in the procedure becoming a retail service offering. Now, minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures and nonsurgical services have created a new business front for those with the latest and the “hottest” technologies. With smart marketing, the advent of new technologies, and the dwindling reimbursements from medical insurers, business-savvy cosmetic specialists and non–core cosmetic physicians are taking advantage of the opportunities to enter the cosmetic services market. Use of à la carte facelifts, lasers, and fillers now allow postponement of full facelift procedures and present a new opening for more competition and a new market from patients who never before considered facial surgery. There is even a new movement to meet patient needs through concierge delivery mechanisms. According to the ongoing statistical reporting by the American Society of Plastic Surgery, facial procedures for the eyelid and nose and facelifts are collectively the second most popular surgical procedures after breast surgery in America.