Hoping to look more kissable perhaps, Americans underwent a record number of lip procedures last year.

“We live in the age of the selfie, and because we see images of ourselves almost constantly on social media, we’re much more aware of how our lips look,” Dr. David Song, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in a society news release.

There were more than 27,400 lip implants performed in 2015 — a 48 percent increase since 2000. That averages out to one lip implant every 19 minutes, the society said, noting the procedure became more popular among both men and women.

Lip injections, which include Botox and various soft-tissue fillers, also rose steeply last year, reaching nearly 9.2 million. That’s an increase of more than 1,000 percent since the year 2000, the plastic surgeons said.

Lip procedures have been the second-fastest-growing facial procedure in the United States since 2000. Only dermabrasion procedures have climbed more rapidly.

Dr. Robert Houser, a plastic surgeon in Westerville, Ohio, said that lips are an easy place for people to start. “A patient may not be ready to commit to something as dramatic as a facelift or eyelid surgery, but there are a variety of ways you can change the shape of your lips,” he said.

Some people prefer the temporary nature of injections, Houser said. “If a patient doesn’t like the injections, it’s fine, because within a few months they wear off and everything is back to normal,” he explained. “But if they do like what injections do for their lips, they have to keep coming back every few months to maintain them.”

The alternative, Houser said, is a more permanent but still reversible lip implant.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more about cosmetic surgery.

Source: HealthDay