Nationwide Incidence, Cost, and Epidemiologic Trends in Facial Rhytidectomy: An Examination of Inpatient Facelifts Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Database

Facelifts are consistently one of the most common aesthetic operations performed by plastic surgeons in the United States (US). In 2013, 133,320 procedures were recorded, a rise of 6% compared with the previous year, making facelift the fifth most commonly performed cosmetic procedure.1 Further, rhytidectomy has been found to be safe in a wider, older range of patients,2 making it more popular with the aging baby boomer generation. However, despite the expansive number of procedures performed, authors and aesthetic surgeons alike acknowledge the lack of comprehensive data on current trends in facial rejuvenation.3 Alsarraf et al noted the severe lack of data on cost outcomes/trends in facial plastics or the market forces behind them.4 The authors aimed to report current national data and recent trends in inpatient facelifts over the last decade using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.A retrospective serial cross-sectional study of data from the NIS database for the 2000 to 2010 time period was performed.5 The database was queried in January 2014. Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the NIS contains all payer discharge data from inpatient hospitalization from roughly 20% of all hospitals in 37 participating US states. The NIS utilizes data from roughly 1000 hospitals each year to create a sample representing >95% of the US population.6Hospital admissions involving facial rhytidectomy were examined. Data were extracted using ICD-9 codes for facial rhytidectomy (86.82), and relevant data were obtained. Data collected included patient and hospital demographics, hospital outcomes, and …