Cosmetic surgeons in Dubai say the rapid spread of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is significantly altering demand for aesthetic procedures across the UAE. New figures show liposuction demand fell 11.4 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year, while breast augmentation dropped around 2 per cent. Cosmetic procedures overall declined 14 per cent among men and 7.7 per cent among women.
Dr Sanjay Parashar, surgeon and chief executive of Dubai's Cocoona Centre of Aesthetic Transformation, says the slack has been picked up elsewhere: "What has gone up are facelifts and bodylifts," as patients who lost significant weight on medication turn to these procedures instead of invasive fat removal. Dr Vikas Verma, a consultant plastic surgeon at NMC Royal Hospital in Dubai Investment Park, says GLP-1 drugs have effectively created an entirely new patient group seeking reconstructive work to address loose skin after rapid weight loss.
Demand for hyaluronic acid fillers has also fallen by roughly 25 per cent over the past year, according to the data cited by Dubai practitioners. Globally, however, cosmetic surgery remains a large industry: nearly 17.9 million surgical procedures were carried out worldwide in 2025, with eyelid surgery the single most popular operation at about 2.46 million procedures.
Doctors in Dubai expect the shift to continue as newer weight-loss drugs reach the market. Trials of the drug retatrutide have shown potential weight loss of up to 28 per cent, suggesting an even larger patient pool could move away from traditional body-contouring surgery, with surgeons repositioning their practices toward facial rejuvenation and skin-tightening procedures that complement rather than compete with the drugs.