Breast Implant Statistics

No picture of plastic surgery around the world would be complete without a look at breast augmentation surgery statistics.

Once the industry’s most popular procedure—from 2006, when the FDA’s silicone breast implant ban was lifted, to 2019—the procedure and the implants it uses have again become the subject of a growing number of personal horror stories.

According to annual reports from the world’s largest plastic surgery society, fewer women are having breast implants put in, and more women are having their breast implants removed.

Other statistics suggest that though the procedure is no longer #1, it remains as popular as ever.

The Aesthetic Society says breast augmentation was the second most common procedure of 2021, and that breast implant removal and replacement was the fifth most common. Augmentations increased by 44%, while explants increased by 47%.

About the statistics

These statistics are an analysis and tabulation of data published over 15-20-plus years in annual reports by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), and The Aesthetic Society.

Survey methodologies vary from society to society, thus so do reported annual figures, usually slightly.

Part I: Statistics on breast augmentation surgeries performed within the U.S. and worldwide.
Part II: Statistics on the fees that surgeons receive to perform breast augmentation surgeries, and on the total revenue this generates.
Part III: Statistics on the ages at which women undergo breast augmentation surgery.

I: Volume of Procedures Performed

Breast Augmentations Performed Annually (U.S.):

[As reported by The Aesthetic Society, a national group of 2,200 plastic surgeons, in published annual reports. Their statistics aim to reflect all surgeries performed, not just those by their members.]

a. Breast Augmentations Performed Annually (U.S.)

Annual Reports: Aesthetic Society. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 1997-2021.

In the last 24 years, from 1997-2021, 7.2-million women in the U.S. have received breast implants (7,262,695).
Over the last 10 years, an average of 310,000 U.S. women have received breast implants each year.
According to these statistics, approximately 2.16% of the total U.S. population has breast implants, and roughly 0.1% of the U.S. population gets breast implants each year (0.093401627% per year; using 2021 population data of 331.9M).
Women make up half of the U.S. population (50.5%), thus statistics project that no more than 4.33% of women in the United States have breast implants, not accounting for implant removals.
The popularity of breast augmentation peaked in 2007, when 399,440 women underwent the procedure, according to The Aesthetic Society.
Breast augmentation surgeries increased by +44 percent, year over year, from 2020-2021, while breast implant removals increased by +47 percent, according to The Aesthetic Society.
From 2015-2021, breast augmentation surgeries increased 19.2% while breast implant removal surgeries increased 87%. Explants increased at a rate 4.5X faster than augmentations during these years.

Breast Augmentations Performed Annually (U.S.):

[As reported by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a national and international group that represents 92% of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the U.S. Their statistics also aim to reflect all surgeries performed, not just those by their members.]

b. Breast Augmentations Performed Annually (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2005-2020.

Breast augmentation surgeries decreased by -33 percent, year over year, from 2019-2020, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Breast augmentation was the #1 most-performed cosmetic surgery procedure in America every year from 2006-2019.
In 2020, breast augmentation surgeries reached a 15-year low, when 33% fewer women underwent the procedure (193,073).
That dip cost U.S. physicians $503-million in breast augmentation surgeon fees. Total revenue from these fees likewise reached their lowest in 15 years.
The ASPS has yet to issue its 2021 statistics, but its August 2022 inaugural insights report places breast augmentation as the 3rd most in-demand procedure post-pandemic. The report covered the Jan 2021-June 2022 period.

Implant Type Used in Augmentations; Silicone/Saline (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2007-2020, with 2011 unreported.

Silicone breast implants are used today in an average of 85% of breast augmentation surgeries; saline-filled implants in 15% of procedures (2015-2020).
In 2007, saline-filled breast implants were used in 65% of augmentations.
By 2020, saline implants were used in just 16% of augmentations.
In 2007, silicone breast implants were used in 35% of augmentations.
By 2020, silicone implants were used in 84% of augmentations.

Breast Implant Removal Surgeries Performed Annually (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2005-2020.

Approximately 36,367 U.S. women had their breast implants permanently removed in 2020, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Breast Implant Removal Surgeries Performed Annually (U.S.)

Annual Reports: The Aesthetic Society. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2015-2021.

Annual breast implant removal statistics were first reported by The Aesthetic Society in 2015.
From 38,071 cases in 2015 to 71,284 cases in 2021, breast implant removal surgeries have increased by 87% in six years.
During the same six-year period, breast augmentation surgeries have increased by 19.2%.
In 2021, permanent breast implant removals increased by 47%, year over year, The Aesthetic Society announced. Replacing breast implants was the fifth most common procedure of the year. Augmentation, up 44%, was second.

Breast Augmentations Performed Worldwide (2010-2020):

[As reported by The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, a society formed in 1970, whose 5,100 members reside in 110 countries. ISAPS statistics begin in 2010 and, despite incredible efforts and vast annual improvements, their statistics could be considered less certain than those published by the American societies, above.]

Breast Augmentations Performed Worldwide (2010-2020)

Includes U.S. Annual Reports: International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Chart: Surgical Times. Data from 2012 not collected.

According to statistics from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, approximately 15-million women around the world have undergone breast augmentation surgery over the past 10 years (15,299,358).
An average of 1.6-million women worldwide have breast augmentation surgery each year (~1,603,916 per year; 2013-2020).
Breast augmentation was the world’s most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in 2018, 2019, and 2020, according to ISAPS statistics.
Breast augmentation patients in the U.S. accounted for 23% of the global total in 2020, followed by Brazil (10.6%), Germany (4.2%), and Russia (3.7%).

II: Revenue & Fees

Average Cost of Breast Augmentation Surgery (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available consecutive years, 2005-2020. "Fees do not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses." (ASPS).

The average cost of breast augmentation surgery has risen from $3,406 in 2005, to $4,516 in 2020, the latest year for which official statistics are available.
These fees are less than what patients will actually pay: “Fees do not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses,” ASPS notes.

Breast Augmentation Surgeon Revenue (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2005-2020.

Each year from 2010-2020, U.S. plastic surgeons collected $1-billion on average in surgeon’s fees for breast augmentation surgery. (~$1,080,596,272 per year).
Total surgeon’s fees for breast augmentation in the U.S. in 2020 was $871-million, down -36% from the year prior, and the lowest year on record (2005-2020).
Fees listed are less than what patients will actually pay: “Fees do not include anesthesia, operating room facilities or other related expenses,” ASPS notes.

Revenue & Costs of Breast Augmentation Surgery (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Chart spans all available years, 2005-2020.

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Statistics unreported for 2021.
Revenue figures not included in official reports issued for 2022.

III: Breast Augmentation Patient Ages

18-19 Year Olds Undergoing Breast Augmentation (U.S.)

Annual Reports: American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Chart: Surgical Times. Graph spans all available years, 2006-2020 (2019 data not collected).

An average of 8,320 women aged 18-19 get breast augmentation each year.
Approximately 3% of women who undergo breast augmentation each year are between the ages of 18-19.
[ASPS’s annual reports use the range “Age 13-19,” but in October 2022, an ASPS spokesperson told the New York Times (then covering Top Surgery), that ASPS data includes “girls 18 to 19, not 13 to 19.” This fact also appears in the society’s earliest annual statistic reports.]