Even in This Economy, Consumers Invest in Aesthetic Procedures With Long Lasting Results

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Physicians say consumers are more willing to invest in longer lasting aesthetic treatments, possibly due to the current economic climate. A recent online survey of 160 U.S. dermatology, plastic surgery and aesthetic practices revealed consumers see the value of a longer term solution and in turn will spend more money upfront than they did three years ago. In fact 64 percent of survey respondents acknowledged a shift in consumer behavior over the last several years.

"We have seen a tremendous uptick in the number of patients pursuing less invasive rejuvenation procedures over the past few years but patients are being more careful about what treatments they undertake," commented Park Avenue Plastic Surgeon, Z. Paul Lorenc, MD, FACS. "Unlike what we saw in 2008, today more patients see value in spending more for something that delivers the results they want for a longer period of time. With consumer confidence in the U.S. as low as it is, this survey points to a real trend among patients making smart decisions when it comes to fighting the signs of aging."

The survey also found that an overwhelming 93.8 percent of practices find patients are gravitating towards treatments that will offer them a more natural look over a more "done" appearance as featured by many reality stars and celebrities. While 8 out of 10 of the practices acknowledged that consumers continue to price shop, high patient satisfaction is still the number one driver of patient retention (67.7 percent). This ranked higher than offering the best price which less than 1 and 4 respondents rated as the key driver of patient retention in their practices.

The study was conducted by Suneva Medical, a medical technology company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing novel, differentiated aesthetic products for the dermatology, plastic and cosmetic surgery markets. The Company's long-lasting injectable product is marketed as Artefill® in the U.S. to correct facial wrinkles.

According to the 2010 ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery Statistics, almost 9.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States last year. Women had nearly 8.6 million cosmetic procedures (92 percent of total) and men had more than 750,000 procedures (8 percent of total). Overall, the number of surgical procedures increased by almost 9 percent and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures decreased 9 percent from 2010.

Contact:
Kellie Walsh
(914) 315-6072
[email protected]

SOURCE Suneva Medical