Benefits, risks both at play with trendy plastic surgeries NBC Chicago [Video]

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says there were 26.2 million surgical or minimally invasive procedures performed in the U.S. in 2022, up 19% since 2019.

With the prevalence of “before” and “after” photos filling social media feeds, NBC Chicago looked into some of the trendy procedures and asked Dr. Amir Dorafshar, a board-certified plastic surgeon, in Chicago for his take on some of the top trends.

One is a face thread lift, also called a “lunchtime lift” where an absorbable suture is used to tighten the face and neck.  

“I don’t do threads because I don’t think they last very long,” Dorafshar said.

Buccal fat pad removal is another popular procedure, where fat is removed from the lower cheek area to emphasize the cheekbones.

“The buckle fat pad I do cautiously, because I’m concerned over time at how that may affect facial aging,” Dorafshar said.

There’s also a gluteal …