Fresh Stats and the Latest Way to GLP-1

Plus, an unexpected comeback

Earlier this month, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) released new statistics culled from its 2024 member survey.

No major bombshells, but a few notable tidbits to report:

• GLP-1s continue to fuel plastic surgery procedures. Fat grafting is up 50%, likely due to medication-induced weight loss, which has the potential to leave faces gaunt. What’s more, 10% of AAFPRS members have started prescribing GLP-1s to meet the demand for these drugs. Frankly, I’m surprised the number isn’t higher, since the meds are clearly a boon to business as well as health.

• The top 3 facial plastic surgeries of 2024: rhinoplasty, facelift, and blepharoplasty. Nose jobs are number one—and not just with teens: More mid-lifers are getting their noses tweaked.

• As we’ve been reporting for years, facelifts are skewing younger. Nearly 40% of facelifts performed in 2024 were on patients 35 to 55 years old.

• More women are seeking treatments (surgical and non) to address menopause-related concerns, like laxity, jowling, and thinning skin.

• Both women and men are routinely partaking in neuromodulators, fillers, and treatments aimed at improving skin quality. (Speaking of tox, does anyone use Letybo? A year after its approval and I’ve heard next to nothing.)

• Older patients, especially, seem to be embracing filler, with surgeons reporting steady increases in the number of injections had by those 56+ since 2019.

• Regenerative treatments, like exosomes, continue to entice (despite questionable formulations, iffy evidence, and a lack of standardized protocols and approvals).

Since these “trends” all felt a bit ho-hum (just me?), I reached out to Sean Alemi, MD, a double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in New York City, hoping for an inspired take on the data. He emailed me this observation about GLP-1 use among select 40-somethings.