Plastic Surgery Demands Skyrocket During The Pandemic. Boob Jobs, Tummy Tucks Among Most Popular.
A man undergoes plastic surgery.
Aug. 24 2022, Published 11:51 a.m. ET
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the perfect environment for change. And for many, that meant enhancing their bodies via plastic surgery, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Demand for breast augmentation, face lifts and tummy tucks during the pandemic. Some experts believe disposable income and self-esteem issues are responsible for the surge in plastic surgery.
According to researchers at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 76 percent of the United States' plastic surgeons have seen an increase in people seeking their services compared to pre-pandemic times. Nearly a fourth of the doctors have said their business has doubled.
Liposuctions, facelifts, breast augmentation, tummy tucks and breast lifts were the most common procedures that went up in demand. According to doctors, more than 75 percent of patients are open to spending money on plastic surgery than before.
Part of the reason for the increase in such surgeries is that many people skipped vacations and doing other activities, creating more disposable income. Also, experts have said that people staring at themselves on video calls while working from home has caused some self-esteem issues.
Some doctors feared they would go out of business because of the pandemic. However, the opposite has happened. "With COVID, we prepared for the worst. But when we were able to reopen our office, we were pleasantly surprised with the incredible surge of demand for our cosmetic services, both surgical and noninvasive,' Dr. Bob Basu, a plastic surgeon based in Houston, Texas, who serves as vice president of finance for ASPS,
"Now that the worst is hopefully behind us and people are traveling again and getting back to normal life, I initially thought that we would see some of that demand drop off, and that's not been the case. We're actually still seeing very high demand," he added.
More than 300 representatives from plastic surgery companies in the U.S. took part in the study. Forty-seven percent of those said they were seeing "slightly" more business than before the COVID-19 pandemic started to plague the U.S. in March 2020.