Bienial global Survey
ISAPS International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2009:
1. Analysis
2. Raw Data - Total Procedures for Top 25 Countries
3. Methodology
4. Press Release
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REPORT: World Financial Trends in Plastic Surgery Practices
Financial Trends Survey Results.
For more information, click here.
REPORT Medical Tourism
Medical Tourism Survey Results. Read report.
REPORT: World Financial Trends in Plastic Surgery Practices
Financial Trends Survey Results.
What is your gross income in US Dollars?
A question every surgeon wants to ask other surgeons is: what is your annual gross income? Here again, anonymity was critical in obtaining accurate and previously unavailable answers. There were eight income categories, ranging from under US$250,000 to over $2m. In Western Europe, the largest percentage of surgeons (30.8 percent) earn less than $250,000.
The number-two category was doctors earning between $250,000- $500,000 at 27.4 percent. In Europe, 20.1 percent of doctors were earning $1m or more. In the US, the leading category of income was over $2m at 17.3 percent. The second-highest category in the US was personal income between $750,000 and $1m. Exactly 50 percent of Brazilian plastic surgeons earn less than $250,000, followed by 32.2 percent of respondents earning $250,000- $500,000. No one in Brazil who answered this survey earns more than $2m. In the remainder of South America, the overwhelming number of plastic surgeons (72.6 percent) earn less than $250,000.
Practices in Australia and New Zealand showed great vitality, with 20.3 percent of responding surgeons earning $750,000-$1m. The categories ‘$1m-$1.25m’ and ‘over $2m’ each registered at 19 percent. In China, there are quite a few surgeons who earn over $2m (11 percent). However, the average Chinese plastic surgeon earns less than $250,000 (55.6 percent).
The leading income category in Japan is $500,000 $750,000 (35.7 percent), compared to Korea where the leading income category was less than $250,000 (33.3 percent).
How many years have you been in practice?
In response to the second question, the percentage of respondents was within one percent of the previous ISAPS Survey, with 35.6 percent of surgeons practicing for more than 20 years, followed by 11 to 15 years (15.7 percent) and 6 to 10 years (15.3 percent).
What best describes your practice?
The leading category was Private Clinic with Surgical Facilities (32.6 percent), Private Office with Surgeries Performed in Local Hospitals (26.9 percent), and Hospitals under 500 Beds (16.5 percent). Interestingly, these responses reflected similar percentage responses from the second ISAPS News Survey – reaffirming the statistical significance of this survey process.
Rate expenses to your practice.
By asking surgeons to rate expenses to their practice, we isolated responses by region to compare some of the leading issues. Response degrees ranged from least expensive to most expensive with five options for each of the eight categories of expenses. In Western Europe the overwhelming number of surgeons rated taxes as the most expensive category at 42.3 percent, and salaries and support staff (27 percent) as the second most expensive. All other expenses were rated somewhat expensive.
Comparatively, salaries were the most expensive in the US (46.6 percent), overhead came in as the second most expensive at 42.3 percent. Taxes (48.3 percent) and malpractice insurance (40 percent) were rated somewhat expensive. In Brazil, taxes were an issue for doctors who saw this item as the second most expensive (32.8 percent), compared with the rest of South America where the cost of new equipment was the second most expensive factor at 35.2 percent. In Japan, new equipment was the second most expensive (53.3 percent) and in the rest of Asia new equipment was the most expensive at 43.6 percent.
How do your patients pay?
Cash was the leading form of payment in Western Europe (26.7 percent), followed by a combination of insurance and another payment option (14.9 percent) and insurance alone at (14.3 percent).
Reflecting one of the underlying credit crunch issues in the United States, credit cards were the primary form of payment at 31.6 percent, followed by a combination of cash and credit cards (24 percent). In Brazil, cash payments led all other categories combined with 54.5 percent paying in this manner, which was also echoed in the rest of South America (47.4 percent). In Australia and New Zealand, credit cards led the way at 42 percent. In all other Asian countries, cash led at 46.7 percent. In Korea, credit cards were the first choice for payment (66.7 percent). Chinese patients still prefer cash (42.1 percent), followed by credit cards (26.3 percent). In Japan, it was an exact tie; cash and credit cards were each at 26.7 percent.
What is the prevailing rate of interest for patients who pay by third party sources such as banks?
In every area of the world, the vast majority of doctors simply don’t know the anwer. With financing of plastic surgery procedures becoming increasingly popular, surgeons could certainly benefit from having a sense of what the prevailing interest rates are in their own communities for these kinds of loans.
In Europe, 5-9 percent interest led with 27.9 percent of respondents, while in the United States, 27.5 percent of doctors claimed the leading interest percentage rate for loans was 10-14 percent, with the 15- 20 percent category following at 18.2 percent. In Brazil, interest rates for these kinds of loans are much lower, with the ‘less than 5 percent’ category coming in first at 19 percent.
Interest rates in Australia and New Zealand in the 10-14 percent category were observed by 33.3 percent of respondents. In Japan, 40.9 percent of surgeons claimed their patients pay between 5-9 percent interest on loans for plastic surgery procedures.
Where do you practice?
The first question in the survey asked surgeons to identify where they practice. The top three areas were Western Europe (23.7 percent), the United States (16.7 percent), and Brazil (11.7 percent). In addition, we reviewed answers from other influential geographic areas: all other South American countries (6.5 percent); all of Asia (6.4 percent) except China (1.2 percent) Japan (1.3 percent) and Korea (.09 percent), which were isolated out of the all Asia category (total Asia 9.8 percent). We also reviewed responses from New Zealand and Australia (4.3 percent), the latter of which hosted the most recent ISAPS Congress in February 2008.
In total, the regions we examined in the following analysis represent 71.89 percent of all respondents.
How many years have you been in practice?
In response to the second question, the percentage of respondents was within one percent of the previous ISAPS Survey, with 35.6 percent of surgeons practicing for more than 20 years, followed by 11 to 15 years (15.7 percent) and 6 to 10 years (15.3 percent).
The survey was released last spring, and the system allowed readers to answer only once. Replies were registered until early October. Each respondent was required to provide basic information such as their location, years in practice, and practice setting, such as hospital, private clinic, or academic setting.
Where do you practice?
The first question in the survey asked surgeons to identify where they practice. The top three areas were Western Europe (23.7 percent), the United States (16.7 percent), and Brazil (11.7 percent). In addition, we reviewed answers from other influential geographic areas: all other South American countries (6.5 percent); all of Asia (6.4 percent) except China (1.2 percent) Japan (1.3 percent) and Korea (.09 percent), which were isolated out of the all Asia category (total Asia 9.8 percent). We also reviewed responses from New Zealand and Australia (4.3 percent), the latter of which hosted the most recent ISAPS Congress in February 2008.
In total, the regions we examined in the following analysis represent 71.89 percent of all respondents.
ISAPS News has proved to be an unparalleled source of worldwide trends in aesthetic plastic surgery. The survey, which appears in both the printed and electronic versions of each issue, has been well received. Thousands of surgeons have taken the time to share their experiences, charges for procedures as well as their average income, and their unique points of view via our electronic questionnaire.
The survey in the third issue of ISAPS News, titled ‘World Financial Trends in Plastic Surgery’, was completed by an astounding 12 percent of the newsletter’s nearly 20,000 readers – translating to 9.5 percent of the world’s estimated 25,000 plastic surgeons. This is a significant response rate on questions that have never been asked of so many plastic surgeons before. In addition, the focus of this survey, which was devised in January, seems prescient when viewed against the world’s current financial drama.
This survey reveals valuable information for any plastic surgeon in practice today – especially the extensive listing of what surgeons in various countries and regions charge for the most popular procedures.
The survey was released last spring, and the system allowed readers to answer only once. Replies were registered until early October. Each respondent was required to provide basic information such as their location, years in practice, and ractice setting, such as hospital, private clinic, or academic setting.
How much do you charge?
The anonymity of the ISAPS News surveys makes it easier to catalog information that can be found nowhere else. We asked surgeons to provide four ranges of charges for the ten most popular procedures. The ranges were: under US$5,000, $5,000-$10,000, $10,000-$15,000, and the high end, greater than $15,000. A complete overview of all charges and procedures can be found at www.isapsnews.com
Here are some of the highlights:
- The leading charges for rhinoplasty, abdominoplasty, facelift surgery, hip and thigh contouring, and breast reduction in Western Europe and the United States arebetween $5,000 and $10,000.
- A single breast implant was priced under $5,000 in all areas we reviewed in this analysis.
- In all other South America (excludes Brazil), all other Asia (excludes China, Japan and Korea), virtually all procedures were under $5,000.
- In Brazil, the leading charges for abdominoplasty, facelift surgery and hip and thigh body contouring were in the $5,000- $10,000 category range. The leading choice for charges for all other procedures in Brazil was under $5,000.
- For Botox treatments, other fillers and dermabrasion, virtually everyone who responded charged well under $5,000, as would be expected.
Rate seven major costs of running your practice
Responses were grouped into three major categories: ‘about the same’, ‘increasing’, and ‘out of control’. In the vast majority of responses, the leading answer across all boundaries was about a 10 percent increase for everything from staff and office rent, to equipment, supplies, and malpractice and other insurance. While the total respondent percentage from China is only 1.2, we did catalog leading answers that reflect increases in rent, malpractice insurance and taxes that were outside the 10 percent range we observed around the rest of the world. This may r eflect the nescient stage of aesthetic plastic surgery in China.
What are the most popular credit cards patients use?
The people at Visa will be quite happy to learn that Visa is the number-one credit card used for plastic surgery: Western Europe (38 percent), US (59.6 percent), Brazil (33.5 percent), Australia and New Zealand (79.7 percent), China (72.2 percent), Japan (60 percent). There were also many surgeons who do not accept credit cards at all, among them Western Europe (41.4 percent), Brazil (59 percent), all other South American responders (43.3 percent) and Asia (excluding China, Japan and Korea), where 24.5 percent of doctors do not accept credit cards. In the US, only 4.3 percent of responding surgeons will not accept credit cards. In Australia and New Zealand, the percentage is even lower (1.3 percent).
ISAPS is committed to building a global database of statistics that are relevant to surgeons, patients, the media and industry alike. It is a slow process to develop these surveys, collect a reasonable sampling of responses to make the data statistically relevant, and time-consuming to analyze the outcome. In future issues of ISAPS News, we plan to cover more clinical questions so that the most sought-after information will become known. Our surveys are gaining momentum, so we hope to have broader categories of study in the next year. In the meantime, we welcome commentary and suggestions for future survey topics.
The next survey, on medical tourism, is available now on our website at www.isaps.org. With the exploding trend of patients traveling outside their home region for all forms of surgery, we want to collect statistically significant data on the plastic surgery aspects of this trend that will encourage safe surgery for your patients. Please respond to our survey. Your answers will be of interest to a worldwide audience. Look for an analysis of the responses in a future issue of ISAPS News.
By Alphabetical Order 
By Number of Members 
By World Map 