THE over 65s and men are leading a surge in cosmetic surgery in Exeter.
This trend is mirrored across the UK, as Nuffield Health's first annual Plastic Surgery insight survey reveals emerging trends in the market.
Nationally, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of Nuffield Health surgeons, who between them carry out 1 in 10 cosmetic procedures in the UK, reported an increase in older people seeking surgery. This figure was slightly higher amongst surgeons in the South West – where 67% noted this trend. Nuffield Health's patient figures paint the same picture, with patients over 65 up by 49% in 2014 from 2007.
Men are also continuing to drive the cosmetic surgery market, with more than four in five (83 per cent) of Nuffield Health surgeons in the South West saying they have noticed a rise in men seeking cosmetic surgery in the form of nose jobs, eyelid lifts and 'man boob' removal. All of the South West surgeons questioned (100 per cent) also reported a rise in the number of previously overweight or obese patients looking for surgery following weight loss.
The Nuffield Health plastic surgeons believe the reasons behind the trend among the 'baby boomer' generation to be a direct result of people living longer, healthier lives and wanting to 'look well' too. For men, surgery has increasingly become 'the norm' in recent years, and the trend looks set to stay, with men accounting for one in ten of all UK cosmetic procedures.
Mr John Palmer, Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Nuffield Health Exeter Hospital said: "We've seen a definite increase in cosmetic surgery for men over the last few years. 10 – 15 years ago cosmetic surgery for men was quite rare, now about one in ten procedures we do are on men.
"It has become much more socially acceptable and there has been a big change in the way men view health and fitness in recent years, with the media, consumer magazines and celebrities all having played a role. As well as keeping fit and active, we are seeing men place much more emphasis on looking well too."
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