The annual number of breast lift procedures done in the United States has perked up 70 percent over the last 15 years, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

The new research indicates more than 90,000 women last year opted to get the procedure, otherwise known as mastopexy, up from fewer than 53,000 13 years earlier.

With over 290,200 women undergoing the procedure last year, getting breast implants, or augmentation, continued to be the most-common cosmetic surgery in the country.

However, lift procedures, used to enhance sagging breasts, has proved increasingly popular, even outpacing breast implant surgeries 2-to-1 over the last three years, said a report by CBS News.

In a lift, excess skin is surgically removed and surrounding tissue is tightened to reshape and raise the breasts, which can lose their firmness as a result of pregnancy, breast-feeding, weight fluctuations, genetics and aging, which could cause changes in skin elasticity, according to the society.

Nearly 70 percent of cases last year involved women between the ages of 30 and 54.

"The ideal candidate for a breast lift is a woman who has a good amount of breast tissue left, who doesn't necessarily want to have implants," Robert X. Murphy, ASPS president, said in a statement. "Many women aren't sure if they are a candidate for this type of surgery, but a simple pencil test can tell them if they are." If a pencil placed under the breast remains in place, a person may be a candidate for a lift, he explained.

The procedure, confirms the ASPS, will not change the size or round out the breasts. However, the process could pose risks such as scarring, changes in breast or nipple sensation, irregularities or asymmetry and in rare cases difficulty breast-feeding or damage to tissue in the nipples or areolas, the Mayo Clinic has said.

The top five plastic surgery procedures in 2013 were: breast augmentation, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, liposuction and facelifts.

Meanwhile, in 2013 about 23,770 individuals underwent breast-implant removals.