The market for botulinum toxin-A drugs, which currently includes  Botox and Dysport in the U.S., is estimated to grow to $543 million by 2017, and the aesthetic laser and light therapy markets for skin resurfacing, hair removal, and laser lipolysis are expected to be the fastest growing cosmetic procedure markets.

The report was done by iData Research, which specializes in medical device and pharmaceutical market research. Dr. Kamran Zamanian, CEO of iData, commented, “Allergan has had a monopoly on botulinum toxin A drugs since 2002 [with Botox], but now faces competition from Dysport by Medicis as well as other new competitors expected to enter the market. Allergan and Medicis have been fierce rivals, as their Juvederm and Restylane facial dermal fillers compete in the lucrative dermal filler market.”

The report also speculated that competition will intensify with the expected entry into the market of another botulinum toxin—PurTox by Mentor. According to Mentor, PurTox is in Phase III clinical trials in the U.S.

The use of botulinum toxins is also expected to increase due to a growing number of therapeutic treatments that go beyond filling wrinkles; for example, the FDA is currently evaluating Botox as a treatment for severe migraines.

At present, the U.S. market for injectables is valued at almost $860 million, according to the report, which is titled “Markets for Cosmetic Surgery, Facial Aesthetics and Medical Laser Devices 2011.” The three-report series includes data, analyses and competitor profiles for botulinum toxins, dermal fillers, breast augmentation implants, liposuction aspirators, laser/light devices, and microdermabrasion.

Their article reported that teenagers who watch cosmetic surgery reality shows, like Extreme Makeover, are more likely to have an interest in cosmetic surgery for themselves.

In one study, Charlotte Markey, a psychology professor at Rutgers–Camden, and Patrick Markey, of Villanova University, surveyed 170 teens (average age 19.77, 59% female) to assess their impression of reality TV shows that feature cosmetic surgery, appearance satisfaction, self-esteem, and their interest in cosmetic surgery.

“Participants who reported favorable impressions of reality television shows featuring cosmetic surgery were more likely to indicate interest in pursuing surgery,” the researchers wrote.

Their second study divided 189 participants into two groups (average age of 19.84, 51% female); half were shown an ‘extreme makeover’ program and the other half a show with a neutral message.

The researchers found that women were more likely to want cosmetic surgery than men, and that the viewers of the cosmetic makeover show were more inclined to consider the procedure for themselves compared those who didn’t view the show.

The two studies were done to “examine the influence of media messages about cosmetic surgery on youths’ interest in altering their own physical appearance,” wrote the researchers.

“There is a cultural context to never be satisfied with our physical selves. It’s the rare person who is either completely oblivious or has developed such a strong counter message to not be affected,” said Dr. Charlotte Markey.

“A correlational and experimental examination of reality television viewing and interest in cosmetic surgery,” is available for purchase at Science Direct.

Dr. Angelo Cuzalina, president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, says that those who are looking for new jobs and going on job interviews often want the surgery.

“It’s almost becoming a fad. People have the gauging procedure where they gradually stretch out their lobe so it has a giant hole that’s larger than a quarter. But then they want to join the workforce and think their chances for a job might be better if they didn’t have this,” he says.

Dr. Brian Glatt, a plastic surgeon, agrees, saying that he is seeing more patients who gauged their ears as teens but are now outgrowing the trend.

Dr. Patrick Carney performs the surgery using a local anesthetic; he removes any skin surrounding the split to create a clean edge and then stitches the ear back together. Sutures will be put into the lobe and removed within a week.

While patients can expect some scarring, says Dr. Cuzalina, patients should be able to wear regular earrings again after a few months, if desired.

“It’s not a really painful operation to have done, but you may never get the lobe back to its original shape,” Dr. Cuzalina says. “But more people are doing it. It usually takes some change in a person’s life to force them to come in and get the surgery.”

Dr. Carney performs earlobe repair surgery in his Twin Cities offices.

An estimated 6.9% of all minority respondents and 9.9% of white respondents indicated that they have had an invasive or non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedure.  Asians were most likely to report having had cosmetic surgery (11.1%), followed by African-Americans (7.1%), Hispanics (4.6%), and other races (6.2%).

The most common non-invasive cosmetic procedures that Asian respondents reported having were fat injections, dermabrasion, and Botox. Black and Hispanic respondents reported the most common procedures they had were laser hair removal, Botox, and chemical peels.

For invasive procedures, the survey found the most common procedures were facelift (among Asian respondents); tummy tuck (among Hispanic respondents); and liposuction (among African-American respondents).

The survey also revealed that Asian and Hispanic respondents were more likely to indicate cosmetic surgery was popular among members of their racial/ethnic background when compared to African-Americans and all other races. Almost a quarter of those surveyed said they knew someone of the same racial/ethnic background who has had cosmetic surgery.

While more than 30 percent of those surveyed said they would seek out a cosmetic surgeon of the same race/ethnicity as themselves, over half (56.6 percent) said they thought it would be difficult to find a surgeon of the same race/ethnicity as themselves.

Dr. Mark Berman, president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, says, “Cosmetic surgery is en vogue no matter who you are. Feeling better about yourself and making improvements to your looks is thankfully not limited to a specific race or culture.”

Dr. Carney is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery; he has five Twin Cities Skin Speaks Spa M.D. locations.