20 years of breast augmentation data reveals a market that's barely grown in volume — but has been quietly transformed by who's getting the surgery, what implant they choose, and which procedures are actually rising.
The all-time peak was 2007 (347,524) — right before the recession knocked it down 18%. The 2016–2018 run looked like a recovery, hitting 314K in 2018. Then a pre-COVID slip, then the pandemic cratered it by a third. Volume came back. The #1 ranking didn't.
In 2007 — the year after the FDA re-approved silicone gel implants — saline still held 65% market share. Within 11 years, silicone reached 88% dominance. One of the fastest consumer preference shifts in surgical history.
For 13 straight years (2006–2018), the age distribution barely moved. Then COVID and whatever followed it reshuffled everything. The under-30 share has nearly halved. The 55+ share has exploded 6×.
Under-20 augmentation held in a tight band of 7,800–10,500 for 13 years. Then it fell off a cliff — dropping 63% by 2020 and another 23% to 2022. A small 2023 bounce immediately flatlined. The numbers are now locked at roughly one-third of the pre-2020 baseline.
Augmentation is the only major breast procedure that hasn't grown from its peak. Lifts have surged 47%. Reconstruction +185%. Implant removals have grown every single year for 15 consecutive years — even during COVID.
| Procedure | 2007 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augmentation | 347,524 | 306,196 | −12% |
| Breast lift | 104,176 | 153,616 | +47% |
| Reconstruction | 57,102 | 162,579 | +185% |
| Reduction (cosmetic) | ~44,000 | 76,734 | +75% |
| Implant removal | 26,909 | 41,271 | +53% |
Surgeon fees barely moved from 2005–2018 ($3,300–$3,800 range). Then in a single year — 2019 — the average fee jumped 25% from $3,824 to $4,789, pushing total market revenue to an all-time high of $1.37B. COVID crushed volume but the new price floor held.
The Pacific region (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI — just 16% of US population) has performed 36–38% of all augmentations for 20 years. Post-COVID, the South Atlantic surged from ~16% to 21%, while the Northeast retreated from 15% back to 11%.
Caucasian share held flat at 74–76% across all 8 reported years. Hispanic patients grew steadily from 9.5% (2012) to 12% (2020) — the only demographic with a consistent upward trend. ASPS stopped publishing this breakdown after 2020.
ASPS began tracking male breast augmentation in 2022. Small but consistent — and the fact that the category exists at all signals a shift in how the industry classifies these procedures.