Weight-Loss Drugs Are Cutting Demand for Liposuction While Lifts for Sagging Skin Rise, Survey Finds

The growing popularity of weight-loss drugs is changing the cosmetic surgery market worldwide. With weight now reducible without surgery, demand for liposuction and several other aesthetic treatments is falling, according to an international survey.

The National, a Middle East-based news outlet, reported on Wednesday (28 October) that the picture comes from a recent survey by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ISAPS). The survey drew on information from more than 2,900 plastic surgeons in 51 countries.

According to the survey, almost 17.9 million surgical cosmetic procedures were carried out worldwide in 2025.

The same survey found that the number of cosmetic surgeries among men fell by 14 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year. Among women, the fall was 7.7 per cent. Women's cosmetic surgery demand had already fallen by 4 per cent in 2024.

Demand for liposuction fell by 11.4 per cent in 2025, after a 12.6 per cent fall the year before. Demand for breast augmentation and Botox is also trending down. After both procedures fell by 17 per cent in 2024, breast augmentation fell a further 2 per cent in 2025 and Botox a further 7 per cent.

There is, however, an opposite trend after rapid weight loss, as skin sags and body shape changes. Demand for operations such as facelifts, body lifts and breast lifts is rising, the survey said.

Sanjay Parashar, chief executive and surgeon at Dubai's Cocoon Centre for Aesthetic Transformation, said the easy availability of weight-loss drugs is changing demand for cosmetic treatment. Because the drugs are effective at reducing stubborn fat on the face and body, the need for liposuction is falling. At the same time, demand is rising for surgery to remove excess sagging skin and tighten skin on the face and body.

Parashar added that if GLP-1 drugs become more widely available, this change could continue. The experimental drug retatrutide, which works on three hormone receptors, has shown in early trials that it could reduce weight by up to 28 per cent, although it has not yet received regulatory approval.

In Parashar's view, despite advances in weight-loss drugs, there is still no effective treatment to restore skin elasticity. Demand for cosmetic surgery to deal with sagging skin will therefore remain.

Dimitri Melnikov, another plastic surgeon in Dubai, said people are now more interested in comparatively smaller and natural-looking breasts. Instead of excessive filler in the face, treatments to improve skin quality and boost the body's own collagen production are also becoming popular. The survey found demand for hyaluronic acid filler fell by about 25 per cent in a year.

Nicolas Hieronimus, chief executive of the cosmetics company L'Oréal, has also said weight-loss drugs are having a significant effect on the beauty industry. His company is developing products to be used alongside GLP-1 drugs to deal with sagging skin after rapid weight loss.

Vikas Verma, a plastic surgeon at NMC Royal Hospital in Dubai, said the growth in the number of clinics in the United Arab Emirates, intense price competition and interest in treatments that deliver quick results may also be reasons for the fall in surgery demand.

According to the survey, the most popular operation worldwide in 2025 was eyelid surgery, which was performed 2.46 million times.