Chin implant surgery rates rise 71% since 2010: Why?

Lizette Stephens meets with Dr. Darrick Antell to discuss her chin implant surgery in New York City.

/ American Society of Plastic Surgeons

(CBS News) Notice something different about a friend's face? If new statistics are any indication, your friend might be sporting a new chin.

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A new report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows chin implants are the fastest growing plastic surgery procedure in the U.S., up a staggering 71 percent since last year.

In 2011, almost 20,700 Americans got chin augmentation surgery, known as a "chinplant," with slightly more men opting for the procedure.

"The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging," Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in a written statement. "People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery."

More men and women who were 55 and over got the procedure than any age group - 8,459 people, followed by 5,075 people in their forties. For the procedure, a plastic surgeon creates a pocket in front of the chin and under the muscles in which an implant made out of silicone or other materials are inserted. According to the National Institutes of Health, the procedure lasts between 1 and 3 hours.

What's behind the rising rates? Roth thinks in part it's technology driven - but not in the sense that surgeons have a more cutting edge techniques.

"We also know that as more people see themselves on video chat technology, they may notice that their jawline is not as sharp as they want it to be," Roth said. "Chin implants can make a dramatic difference."

One manager at a software company who underwent a chin implant, Lizette Stephens, said she got the surgery after seeing her double-chin on lots of client video chats.

"It really, really bothered me," Stephens said. "I wanted to do something about it to get a more profound profile and more definition in my chin area."

Chinplants weren't the only procedure to see a big bump in rates. Lip augmentation rates went up 49 percent since last year, while cheek implant rates shot up 47 percent. Laser-skin resurfacing saw a 9 percent climb, soft tissue filler procedures increased 7 percent, and facelifts increased 5 percent.

The rates pale in comparison to surgeries like breast augmentation, which are performed on roughly 307,000 Americans each year, according to ASPS.

For last year's statistics, the ASPS' notable finding was more men were going under the knife than ever before, with more than 1.1 million getting plastic surgery in 2010, HealthPop reported.

6 Photos

Chinplants: The latest plastic surgery craze?

[cbs_bull]

Hey, anyone wants Jay Leno's chin? ...

[Conservativesareidiots]

I had an implant years ago....not quite 20 years...and it was a good decision, without any complications. If you have any concerns about a weak chin, flabby neck, etc., I would recommend it. We all want to feel good about overselves, without becoming too concerned. Of course, getting the right surgeon is the goal. I picked four names out of the phone book, and then talked to each one of them. Their approaches were very different, with some of them taking a quick look and saying, "No problem." One even said he could do it in the office. But one surgeon, who had the most unusual name, sent his beautiful assistant to show me a video on the procedure. Then, he took numerous pictures with a very professional camera and he made sure to take enough time to explain every aspect of it. That made me feel that he would be the most careful. Oh, and he looked at my deviated septum, and fixed that at the same time, which was covered by insurance since I had frequent nose bleeds, cutting the cost in half (total under $5,000). That man, now retired, is a friend and someone I respect tremendously.

[deroberts21]

I noticed that this article does not mention any post-surgical issues, recovery time, possible side effects, issues with silicone or the amount of post-surgical pain. Of course I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the author is not actually a journalist.

[RealiteBites]

Meh ... they two before and afters look different, but I wouldn't necessarily say they looked dramatically better or worse.

Sometimes you see some before and afters, and it's just amazing what plastic surgery can do for somebody - like Ashley Simpson's nose job.

But a lot of the time people either just look different, or else they look even worse (overdone, unnatural, etc).

Although ... some of the stars look fantastic for their age, like they look the same as they always have, like Demi Moore - can't tell what she's had done, but she's obviously had something done ...

Kind of interesting to see what doctors can do these days ...