Boob-job biz going bust in Big Apple due to recession

New York, Mar 18 (ANI): Cosmetic surgery industry in New York is getting nipped and tucked by the declining economy, show figures.

"We've had a dropoff just because of the economic environment," The New York Daily News quoted Manhattan cosmetic surgeon Lawrence Milgrim, as saying.

"Some of the larger procedures have dropped off more than some of the smaller procedures. I think today the gestalt is, 'Don't change me, just make me look better than I am now,'" he added.

According to a study, cosmetic surgical procedures have dipped 15 percent in the past year, and nonsurgical procedures are down 12 percent.

As per the survey by American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, breast augmentations, which cost up to 4,000 dollars, fell from nearly 400,000 in 2007 to 355,671 last year.

Tummy tucks were down by 37,943 cases, while the number of eyelid surgeries was off by 45,659.

Infact, Botox injections dropped from 2.7 million in 2007 to 2.4 million last year. Overall, the number of cosmetic surgeries in the U.S. has fallen from a high of 11.8 million in 2004 to 10.2 million last year.

However, laser skin resurfacings, which range from 1,100 dollars to 2,000 dollars, jumped 12 percent.

Milgrim said the resurfacing procedures have helped him offset his losses.

"You can actually have recovery within three to seven days after the procedure," said Milgrim, explaining that improvements in lasers and the training of surgeons have also made resurfacing procedures more popular. (ANI)