More than €23 million has been spent on cosmetic or corrective procedures such as facelifts and liposuction in public hospitals since 2009, new figures show. A total of 5,587 patients have received nose jobs, breast augmentation, and other operations categorised as cosmetic or corrective procedures by the HSE in the past five years.
These included 176 facelifts or browlift surgeries performed at a cost of €626,855, and 566 nose jobs or rhinoplasties at a cost of more than €1.9 million. Data released by the HSE shows that a further €445,331 was spent on eyelid and lip excision for 270 patients during the period. Breast surgery accounted for 2,217 of the cosmetic and corrective surgeries in public hospitals since 2009, costing €11 million. The HSE declined to comment but has previously stated that it is not possible to tell from the statistics whether a procedure was carried out for purely cosmetic or therapeutic reasons.