Summer Smart Growth

As full-on, sun-scorched summer looms on the other side of the June Gloom, Orange Countians are likely flocking to the gym, the yoga class, the spinning cycle, wherever, trying to get bathing-suit trim. Is there a similar run for the operating table, just to make sure those D cups runneth over?

According to Dr. James Wells, a plastic surgeon in Long Beach, summer surgeries aren't officially tracked, but he says many doctors do see a jump. "I hear that from colleagues that summer's a busy time—that they can't really take time off," he says.

Women continue to top the cosmetic-surgery stats nationwide, with breast enhancements up 55 percent between 2000 and 2006.

"When people are planning, they look at summer as a time-off period," says Wells. "If they're changing jobs, they take the time to change things so they can go in with a 'new them,' if you will."

Wells says certain surgeries are avoided during the summer. "They're not going to do things like major skin-care activities because the sun is injurious to the skin." Instead, he says, "young women might think about things like breast implants, liposuction, even tummy tucks—things where they're going to have more exposure of themselves and time to recuperate."

The age of Botox—and direct-to-consumer advertising—has prompted more clients to come in and request certain types of procedures, Wells says. Botox procedures among women jumped 449 percent between 2000 and 2006.

But the hidden trend this summer may be found among the boys: According to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there was a 22 percent leap in male breast reductionsurgery between 2005 and 2006.