Looking for the world’s most popular plastic surgery procedures?
All 20 of the top most popular surgery procedures worldwide are here.
Liposuction was the world’s most popular plastic surgery, according to a report on international plastic surgery statistics, published on January 9, 2023.
A combined 1.9-million liposuction surgery procedures were performed throughout the year, making it more popular than breast augmentation.
Breast augmentation was the second most popular plastic surgery procedure of the year, according to the report, followed by eyelid surgery (#3) the nose job or rhinoplasty surgery (#4), and the tummy tuck or abdominoplasty (#5).
Table of Contents
Top 20 Most Popular Plastic Surgery Procedures in the World
| Rank | Plastic Surgery Procedure | Number of Surgeries | Round Number |
| 1 | Liposuction | 1,903,063 | 1.9M |
| 2 | Breast Augmentation | 1,685,471 | 1.6M |
| 3 | Eyelid Surgery | 1,446,890 | 1.4M |
| 4 | Rhinoplasty | 995,149 | 995K |
| 5 | Tummy Tuck | 991,361 | 991K |
| 6 | Breast Lift | 781,404 | 781K |
| 7 | Lip Enhancement | 717,596 | 717K |
| 8 | Facial Fat Grafting | 589,494 | 589K |
| 9 | Butt Augmentation | 523,331 | 523K |
| 10 | Breast Reduction | 507,363 | 507K |
| 11 | Facelift | 477,705 | 477K |
| 12 | Neck lift surgery | 290,844 | 290K |
| 13 | Brow lift surgery | 290,107 | 290K |
| 14 | Gynecomastia surgery | 282,997 | 282K |
| 15 | Ear surgery (Otoplasty) | 272,493 | 272K |
| 16 | Breast Implant Removal | 253,594 | 253K |
| 17 | Labiaplasty | 171,088 | 171K |
| 18 | Upper Arm Lift surgery | 140,158 | 140K |
| 19 | Facial Bone Contouring | 131,656 | 131K |
| 20 | Thigh Lift | 113,206 | 113K |
1. Liposuction: The World’s #1 Most Popular Plastic Surgery Procedure.
According to a new report by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), liposuction is the world’s most popular plastic surgery procedure.
Liposuction surgery was performed more than 1.9 million times throughout the year in cosmetic and plastic surgery practices across the world, making it the world’s most popular plastic surgery procedure. More than 5,200 liposuction procedures were done every day of the year.
Procedures Done: 1,903,063
2. Breast Augmentation Surgery
Breast augmentation surgery is the world’s second most popular plastic surgery procedure, with 1.6 million procedures performed throughout the year.
That comparison isn’t entirely accurate though.
Both men and women get liposuction, whereas only women get breast augmentation surgery—at least in a large, large majority of cases. Liposuction can also be done on multiple parts of the body, while breast augmentation surgery is only done on—you guessed it—the breasts.
Procedures Done: 1,685,471
3. Eyelid Surgery
Eyelid surgery was the world’s 3rd most popular plastic surgery, with 1.4 million procedures done throughout the year. Eyelid surgery is also known as blepharoplasty, and the procedure is often divided into upper and lower blepharoplasty. Not everyone gets both their upper and lower eyelids treated at the same time. This popular procedure is most often done for people between the ages of about 45 and 54, though plenty of patients also choose to get the procedure well before then.
Procedures Done: 1,446,890
4. Rhinoplasty Surgery
Rhinoplasty, more popularly known as a nose, was the world’s 4th most popular plastic surgery. Nearly 1-million nose jobs were done in the last year for which stats have been released by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Rhinoplasty is an exacting and tedious procedure that can be done a number of times, but it is best to have the procedure done right the first time by a rhinoplasty specialist. Not all revision rhinoplasty surgeries required are done due to a surgeon’s poor performance of the procedure. Most revision rhinoplasty surgeries are done because a patient’s ideals have changed over time. While discount plastic surgery is never a good idea, if there was one procedure you truly should never seek out the cheapest surgeon for, it would be a nose job. (And a Brazilian butt lift, which didn’t make our list of the 20 most popular plastic surgery procedures on its own, but is included in number nine below as butt augmentation.)
Procedures Done: 995,149
5. Abdominoplasty Surgery
Abdominoplasty surgery is also know as a tummy tuck, and it’s done as either a standalone procedure on its own, or as one of many procedures that make up a mommy makeover. Most patients can expect to go down by a waist size or two as a result of an abdominoplasty, with patients who need the procedure more being able to reduce their waist by 3-4 pant sizes. With 991,000 tummy tucks performed in 2021, the abdominoplasty was the world’s 5th most popular plastic surgery procedure.
Procedures Done: 991,361
6. Breast Lift Surgery
Breast lift surgery, also know as a mastopexy, raises the breasts by reducing excess skin and tissue, and tightening up the breast skin envelope. Breast lift surgery can be done in combination with breast augmentation surgery, but the two procedures accomplish very different outcomes. For the sake of simplicity, breast augmentation makes the breasts larger (with implants of saline or silicone) but does not raise or improve sagging breasts very much, while breast lift surgery raises the breasts allowing them to not fall so far down the chest wall toward the waist, but it does not increase the size of the breasts very much. Breast lift surgery was the sixth most popular plastic surgery procedure in the world, as of 2021, according to an international report on plastic surgery statistics published in January 2023.
Procedures Done: 781,404
7. Lip Enhancement Surgery
Surgical lip enhancement was the world’s 7th most popular plastic surgery procedure. Lip enhancement can be done with either surgical or non-surgical techniques, and both options are extremely popular. Dermal fillers and hyaluronic acid can be used to improve the texture, size, and appearance of the lips for a short period of time, perhaps for as long as 12-18 months, or as short as 4-6 months, with about 9 months being a good average, depending upon a wide variety of factors that differ from patient to patient. Surgical lip augmentation usually refers to procedures that involve making very fine incisions below the nose, in order to reduce the size of the philtrum and make the lips more pouty or perky. There are other surgical lip enhancement procedures available, including a relatively unpopular one that consists of lip implants made of silicone.
Procedures Done: 717,596
8. Facial Fat Grafting Surgery
Facial fat grafting is the world’s most popular plastic surgery procedure. Interestingly, like several of the procedures on this list, facial fat grafting first requires the use of liposuction, done to harvest the healthy fat to be injected. In either case, facial fat grafting is a popular procedure done to fill the voids and crevices that can appear over time on the face due to a loss of underlying tissue and collagen. The natural progression of aging causes the face to droop downward and look hollow or gaunt in many cases. Facial fat grafting corrects that with injections of healthy fat carefully placed in key areas across the face to produce a more refined and youthful look.
Procedures Done: 589,494
9. Buttock Augmentation Surgery
Buttock augmentation was the world’s 9th most popular plastic surgery, and it covers two forms of the procedure: Butt augmentation can be done using silicone buttock implants, or more commonly, through Brazilian butt lift surgery, or fat grafting to the buttocks.
Procedures Done: 523,331
10. Breast Reduction Surgery (Female)
Breast reduction surgery is the 10th most popular plastic surgery in the world, with more than 500,000 procedures performed across the globe in 2021, according to an international statistics report by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Procedures Done: 507,363
11. Facelift Surgery
Facelift surgery is the 11th most popular plastic surgery procedure in the world. The procedure can be done and is done by both men and women, who wish to restore a more youthful appearance to their face. Wrinkles and sagging skin tissue can be addressed by the popular facelift procedure, which is often considered the single most expensive plastic surgery procedure available.
Procedures Done: 477,705
12. Neck Lift Surgery
The neck is the first to show signs of aging in both men and women, making neck lift surgery the 12th most popular plastic surgery procedure in the world. In 2021, almost 300,000 people in the world had neck lift surgery.
Procedures Done: 290,844
13. Brow Lift Surgery
Brow lift surgery was the 13th most popular plastic surgery in the world, according to international plastic surgery statistics released by ISAPS in January 2023. The brow lift is a cosmetic procedure done to raise the eyebrows, and it is also often referred to as a forehead lift. Eyelid surgery is occasionally done in combination with brow lift surgery, as eyelid surgery reduces the hooding that can happen due to excess skin and tissue, but if hooding is too severe or is caused by the brows drooping—rather than by the eyelids drooping—then brow lift surgery may be necessary.
Procedures Done: 290,107
14. Male Breast Reduction Surgery (Gynecomastia)
Gynecomastia is a clinical condition experienced by men and male adolescents marked by an increase in the amount of breast tissue, typically caused by hormonal imbalances, or certain medications. For many, the condition can go away without treatment over time. Others with the condition opt for male breast reduction surgery, or gynecomastia surgery, in order to reduce the appearance of male breasts. As with ear surgery, gynecomastia surgery is also performed on a large number of young men, but patients at all can get gynecomastia, as well as have the surgery that treats it. Gynecomastia was the 14th most commonly performed plastic surgery procedure in 2021, according to a report published by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in January 2023.
Procedures Done: 282,997
15. Cosmetic Ear Surgery (Otoplasty)
Ear surgery, also known as otoplasty, is the 15th most popular plastic surgery procedure in the world. Of all the various aesthetic cosmetic surgery procedures available, ear surgery is one of the very few to be routinely done by patients who are 18-years-old or younger, due to the emotional trauma that can be caused by ears that are too large or too disproportional to the rest of the face and head. In 2021, more than 272,000 people had aesthetic ear surgery.
Procedures Done: 272,493
16. Breast Implant Removal Surgery
With more women sharing their personal experiences about the effects that saline or silicone breast implants can have on other parts of the body, breast implant removal surgery is a hot button topic in the world of plastic surgery. More than 250,000 women who once had breast implants had them removed in 2021, according to an international report on plastic surgery statistics published in January 2023.
Procedures Done: 253,594
17. Labiaplasty Surgery
The 17th most commonly performed plastic surgery procedure in the world is labiaplasty surgery. Labiaplasty is a female aesthetic and wellness procedure done to reduce or increase the size of the labia (the folds of skin around the vaginal opening). It can reduce discomfort experienced during everyday activities, exercise, and sexual intercourse. In 2021, more than 171.000 women underwent labiaplasty surgery, making it the the 17th most popular plastic surgery procedure.
Procedures Done: 171,088
18. Upper Arm Lift Surgery
The 18th most popular plastic surgery procedure in the world is the upper arm lift, otherwise known as a brachioplasty. The surgery reshapes the upper back portion of the arms, which are a common problem area for accumulated extra tissue and fat.
Procedures Done: 140,158
19. Facial Bone Contouring Surgery
Facial bone contouring is the 19th most popular plastic surgery in the world. As its name implies, the procedure consists of modifying some of the bones in the face in order to produce a desired look. For some, this means contouring the facial bones in order to look more masculine, while for others it’s the opposite. Since the shape and structure of the face is so central to establishing what gender a person appears to be, facial bone contouring is also popular among transgender and transitioning patients.
Procedures Done: 131,656
20. Thigh Lift Surgery
At number 20 on the top list of the most popular plastic surgery procedures is the thigh lift. With just 113,000 procedures performed worldwide—or about 310 procedures per day the world over—this isn’t the most common procedure, but for those who need it, it can certainly change lives.
Procedures Done: 113,206
Listed above are the world’s 20 most popular plastic surgery procedures.
The popularity of a plastic surgery procedure shouldn’t be a factor in determining whether or not a patient gets a procedure, but many of the most popular procedures—as seen on this list—are undoubtedly influenced by media coverage, celebrity plastic surgery cases, and fads.
