The total number of cosmetic procedures declined during the third quarter, but a survey by New York-based investment bank Leerink Swann indicates that there are positive signs for the industry as a whole.

But the positive signs for treatments using Botox, dermal fillers and breast implants don’t extend to the laser treatment market, according to the MEDACorp survey of 100 dermatologists and plastic surgeons. The number of laser treatments dropped 4.6 percent compared to the third quarter last year, although the rate of decline slowed on a sequential-quarter basis.

The physicians polled in the survey expressed more optimism for the cosmetic laser treatment market than the bank’s analysts, however, with the doctors predicting a swing to modest but positive growth over the next quarter and into the coming year.

On the other hand, the analysts warned, there are still troubling developments for cosmetic laser device makers. Only 22 percent of survey respondents said they considered purchasing new laser or light-based aesthetic devices; a mere 9 percent reported purchasing a device, and those purchases tended to be fractional lasers used in skin resurfacing or lipolysis machines used to burn fat cells.

And the Leerink analysts said they expect manufacturers will be forced to offer deeper discounts to overcome the difficult financial climate for big-ticket capital items. The bank said it remains “cautious on the aesthetic device companies,” including Cynosure Inc., Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. and Candela Corp.

Respondents to the survey said they foresee a larger upswing in breast implants, due to the conversion from saline to silicone implants, and a boost from Latisse treatments to grow thicker eyelashes.