Botox rises in 2008, research reveals

Patients looking to delay surgery may have caused an increase in demand for minimally-invasive procedures.

That is according to John Canady, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), who made his comments in light of research published by the group.

The ASPS statistics revealed that there was a five per cent rise in the number of people having non-invasive treatments, the most popular of which was Botox.

Mr Canady explained: "Repeat patients and those putting off surgery, likely sustained demand for some minimally-invasive procedures."

Botox treatments had increased by eight per cent to five million in 2008, while the number of patients having hyaluronic acid fillers rose to 1.1 million, which was a six per cent increase.

Chemical peels also proved popular with patients in 2008 with one million opting for the procedure, which was a two per cent increase on the year before.

Patients suffering from excessive sweating sometimes have Botox injections, which act by freezing nerves that control sweat glands.