Forget boob jobs and Botox injections, American men and women are re-sculpting their chins to achieve facial perfection.

According to new statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), rates of chin surgery have skyrocketed, growing more than breast augmentation and Botox combined in 2011.

During chin surgery, small silicon pieces are surgically implanted on top of the chin bone to improve a person’s profile, and this procedure has dramatically increased in popularity among both men and women (particularly those aged 40 or older) in recent years, stats suggest.

Mr Basim Matti, consultant plastic surgeon at Bupa Cromwell Hospital, told HuffPost Lifestyle: “As people get older, they tend to lose definition in the face, and procedures like chin implant surgery can help to combat this by sharpening features, making the face look slimmer.

Enquiries about this kind of surgery are on the rise in the UK too, he added.

“I am seeing increasing numbers of patients in my clinic who are very well informed about plastic surgery, and know that chin implants can complement other surgeries, for example nose surgery, where a larger chin can make the nose look smaller.”

James McDiarmid, consultant plastic surgeon for the McDiarmid-Hall Clinic, says chin implants are a common element of face lifts: "For those with a loser, slacker jawline - who've always had an underprojecting chin - it's like putting a tentpost in the canvas - the skin tightens around it."

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• Plastic Surgery Britain: Top Cosmetic Procedures

• Breast Augmentation

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 10,015 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 6.2%

• Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery)

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 6,057 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 4.8%

• Breast Reduction

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 5,291 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 6.7%

• Face And Neck Lift

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 4,968 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 4.5%

• Rhinoplasty (nose job)

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 4,518 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 7.4%

• Liposuction

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 3,581 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 6.3%

• Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 3,375 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 7.2%

• Fat Transfer

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 2,551 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 5%

• Brow Lift

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 1,543 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 2%

• Otoplasty (ear correction)

  <strong>Number of procedures in a year:</strong> 1,170 <strong>Increase of:</strong> 5%