We might think of the US as the centre of the cosmetic surgery world, but South Korea has taken the prize for the most cosmetic surgery procedures performed per citizen, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPC).
In terms of the total number of surgical procedures performed in 2010, the US leads the way with 1.6 million, or 17.9 per cent of the worldwide total. But it is South Korea, eighth placed on the overall list, which comes out as the worldwide hotspot when the data is measured against the size of the country’s population.
The US comes in at sixth place after that adjustment, with Greece in second, Italy third and Brazil fourth. Colombia rounds out the top five.
The ISAPC study also reveals that lipoplasty – commonly known as liposuction – is the most common procedure across the globe, with 2.1 million operations carried out in 2010. Boob jobs came in second, with 1.5 million, followed by blepharoplasty – or double eyelid surgery – with just over one million.