This is really sad news for this here capital of nip/tuck. Cosmetic surgery is down a whole one percent in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Encino, Las Vegas — we know you can do better. On your own you can make up for this precipitous dip in the aesthetic betterment of America.

ASPS President Michael McGuire, an L.A. based plastic surgeon, blames the economy, of course: “The industry has experienced some economic downturn during the later part of the decade due to the recession, but, overall, plastic surgery has seen growth in the first decade of the new millennium.”

But McGuire also said newfangled chemical wrinkle-fighters have also taken a bite out of his trade. “The largest contributor to the increase in procedures over the past decade has been the advent of injectable wrinkle fighters and other minimally invasive procedures,” he said.

Isolating “cosmetic surgical procedures” from things such as “cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures” (chemical peels and the like, which are actually up), the number of people going under the pretty knife decreased nine percent in 2009, the organization states. Those less-popular procedures include breast augmentation (tragic), nose reshaping (ugly but necessary), eyelid surgery (Koreans — your eyes are fine), liposuction (America needs more of this, not less), and tummy tucks (see our last comment).

Actually, a one-percentage-point drop in 2009 (with 2.5 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures having been performed) isn't bad. It was a stellar decade for the nip/tuck biz, the ASPS reports, up a whopping 69 percent since 2000.

So try and smile, if your last lift lets you.

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