The impact of the recession has not spared the cosmetic surgery industry, causing drops in patient volume and revenues in practices across the U.S. This includes the practice of Dr. Omeed Memar, a dermatologic and plastic surgeon who runs his own office and product line in the Chicago Loop.

“For my practice, larger procedures like liposuction, where I was doing a number of them a week a year ago, I’m now doing maybe one a month, so it has dropped,” said Memar, an M.D., Ph. D., from the University of Texas and medical director of Academic Dermatology and Skin Cancer Institute. “This change has occurred within the past four months.”

In fact, according to a 2008 study conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, 96 percent of all cosmetic surgeons in the U.S. said that they were concerned about the challenging economy, while 80 percent said that they have already seen the impact of the economic climate on their practices. The survey also revealed that the industry has experienced a one-third decline in patient counts and revenues. Sarah Massier of the AACS said that more specific figures for the loss in patient volume and revenues would not be available until March.

Patients that have been seeking cosmetic surgery are selecting less expensive procedures, which are inherently less surgically invasive. Botox and other non-surgical procedures are becoming more popular choices according to seven out of ten surgeons, while eight out of ten surgeons say that patients are choosing less expensive procedures in general.

“When it comes to Botox, fillers and laser hair removal – for those I haven’t seen a drop,” said Memar, who declined to name exact figures for his seven-year-old company’s 2007 and 2008 revenues, but said that annual revenues have increased 40 to 50 percent from year to year. “I haven’t seen an increase necessarily, but I haven’t seen a drop. I have seen a dip in the larger procedures [like] liposuction, eye lifts, other lifts, hair transplantation.”

Memar said that part of the reason less surgically invasive procedures are not experiencing so much of a decline as more expensive procedures is that less invasive procedures often deal with skin conditions, which clients are less willing to forgo.

Dr. Carolyn Jacob, who runs a general dermatology and cosmetic and laser surgery practice called Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology on West Kinzie Street, also agrees that patients may continue to seek treatments for skin issues in spite of challenging economic times.

“A lot of patients will just comment on their businesses slowing down a bit,” said Jacob, who trained in Cosmetic and Laser Surgery at Harvard Medical School and is a clinical instructor at Northwestern University Medical School. “But the one thing they won’t give up is having their skin treated or having their Botox or filler substances because it’s a very important thing to them.”

In spite of the declines he has witnessed, Memar admits that it could have been worse for his office and product-line store, both of which overlook the Purple and Brown lines on East Washington and North Wabash Avenues and advertise to passengers via office windows.

“Realize, where I am is a little more insulated than somewhere in the suburbs, because if you happen to be in a neighborhood where a lot of people are getting laid off, then you’re going to feel the brunt of the economic impact,” said Memar. “When you’re in the Loop, however, people are coming from a little bit of a distance, and are coming because they have seen your advertisement. This gives you a broader range of potential clients, even during hard times.”

Jacob, whose staff includes another physician, Dr. Kathleen Albrecht, also said that even though she has seen a decline in larger procedures while Botox and less minimally invasive procedures have risen (the number of Botox procedures for her practice has been steadily increasing by 5 percent), the impact of the economy on her practice would have been worse if she did not specialize in a diverse array of procedures.

“I practice both general dermatology and cosmetic and laser surgery, and because of that, we’ve found that we haven’t had much of a downturn in our patient volume,” said Jacobs. “We have seen a little bit of a downturn in liposuction procedures, which are probably the most expensive procedures that we do. But for the smaller procedures that are non-invasive, there’s been a steady small incline in patients desiring these.”

In spite of the recent decline in more expensive procedures, Jacob said that revenues at her four-year-old practice. She also declined to name exact revenue figures, but said that there has been a year to year increase of about 20 percent.

“We’re still in a growth phase right now,” said Jacob. “We have lots of opportunity to see new patients for both cosmetics and general dermatology, and because there is such a need for general dermatology, our office continues to grow, so we have not seen a shrinkage in our patients and our revenue because we’re kind of a young and up-and-coming company and a lot of our patients come from word-of-mouth – a sure way to keep growing.”

At Dr. Memar’s office (from least to most invasive), Botox and other minimally invasive procedures, such as microdermabrasion and chemical peels, can cost $300 to just above $1,000; laser resurfacing can cost $2,000 to $5,000; lifts can cost $1,000 to $8,000; and liposuction and tucks can cost $2,000 to $12,000. Costs of procedures have similar ranges at Dr. Jacob’s office.

“The trend has been more patients seeking procedures in the hundreds of dollars and a bit of a downturn in procedures like liposuction, which can cost up to the thousands of dollars,” said Jacob.

Nevertheless, the president of the AACS, Dr. Patrick McMenamin said in a Jan. 15, 2009 press release that there is reason to believe that the cosmetic surgery industry will recover from the economic trials it has been facing.

“We are all feeling the pinch, but continue to be optimistic that the cosmetic surgery industry will rebound and in turn grow stronger within the next year,” said McMenamin.

The president’s statement was bolstered by the belief that the troubled economy may actually be spurring the increase in minimally invasive procedures and that the decreased expense of such procedures is not the only factor in patients’ choice. According to him, patients might be choosing these procedures because they cannot spare an extended recovery time in an economy where their job might be in jeopardy.

Furthermore, the troubled economy might be encouraging more people to seek these minimally-invasive procedures in order to look younger and gain an aesthetic edge on their competitors when searching for employment or trying to keep their jobs. A lot of the procedures geared toward making patients look younger include Botox and other minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures.

“Any way someone can have a leg up in this job market is a plus,” says McMenamin. “Looking young and feeling young can be a strong component when trying to get or keep a job and that is the reason more people are seeking cosmetic procedures.”

Jacob agrees that more people are seeking minimally-invasive surgery to increase their chances in a cut-throat job market.

“People want to feel good about themselves when things may not be going right with their job, or with their friends’ jobs, and in addition they also want to look good in case they are interviewing for a new job,” said Jacob. “Those non-invasive, small procedures don’t cost so much that they are out of the reach of most people, even when they need to be conservative for other reasons.”

The growing trend toward a more casual attitude towards getting plastic surgery may also contribute to the possible future rebound of the cosmetic surgery industry. A February 2008 survey performed by American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery predicted that men will begin to constitute a growing segment of patients seeking cosmetic surgery as the stigma attached to getting such surgery wears off. According to the same survey, 79 percent of men said that they would not be embarrassed if friends and family knew that they had undergone cosmetic surgery.
Jamey Bell, one of Dr. Memar’s patients, is an example of the trend toward men’s increasing openness toward seeking cosmetic procedures. He says that though he has felt some of the economic impact, he has a stable profession and has been able to fund his procedures through careful planning. 

“I’ve had a few minimally invasive procedures, both for economic reasons and also because I feel it gives a more natural appearance versus taking a big trip to Europe – it’s a bit more economical, and there’s less down time,” said Bell. “As far as the recession goes, I guess I’m in a good position. I do set aside a little bit of finances to do the procedures along the way.

Bell says that he does two laser procedures for skin resurfacing and skin tightening.

“I’m almost 44 years old, and those are things that you can do to kind of slow the aging process,” said Bell.