Cosmetic surgery sags as purse strings tighten

It used to be a high point of Goldy Anthony's life. Every six weeks or so, as a kind of personal morale booster, she and a group of girlfriends would make appointments to see a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon for little touch-ups -- getting lips plumped and frown lines on the forehead smoothed out. He was "an artist" with Botox and Juvederm, she said.

Afterward, in a carefree mood, the ladies would dine at a popular restaurant on the Sunset Strip.

No more. The sub-prime loan crisis, the housing slump and the general decline of the economy have claimed another covey of victims. Anthony is in the real estate business, and under current conditions, the cosmetic treatments -- at $1,800 or more a pop -- can no longer be squeezed into her budget. It's the same with others in the group.

"We used to make appointments together," Anthony said. "Then they started saying, 'I can't go next week.' People didn't have the money, but they were ashamed to tell you."

"I would rather have Botox than go out to dinner, but it's just gotten so bad," said Anthony, 41, who is looking for a job since her career in the mortgage business went sour. She has not had the facial treatments in months.

And what's been happening in Beverly Hills is apparently happening around the country. After years of steady growth, the cosmetic surgery business seems to be going through a rough patch.

Doctors don't like to talk about it publicly, but plastic surgeons from the Southland to South Florida said some colleagues are struggling to stay in business.

A leading manufacturer of breast implants recently reported that surgeries declined toward the end of last year.

"I think we're going to feel it," said Dr. Richard D'Amico, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, who practices in New Jersey and teaches at a New York City medical school. "When people get concerned about the economy, they tend to cut back on the discretionary items."

At a time when several million families face the loss of their homes and possible financial ruin, the travail of relatively prosperous women -- and, increasingly, men too -- is hardly the stuff of tragedy.

But cosmetic surgery was a multibillion-dollar industry last year, so a slowdown is a blow to more than vanity. Doctors alone collected more than $12 billion in fees for such procedures, and nearly that much more went for nurses, anesthetists, operating rooms, materials and other costs.