Plastic surgery demand increases under lockdown

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a radical impact on businesses around the world.

From South Africa to Europe and the USA, the news wires are awash with articles about companies shutting their doors either temporarily or permanently.

However, there’s one business that’s actually reporting the contrary and, in fact, has seen an increase in the number of customers coming through their doors.

According to a recent BBC News feature, plastic surgery clinics in the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia are seeing a rise in patients coming in for treatments ranging from lip fillers, Botox, facelifts to nose jobs – and the reason will astound you.

Demand for procedures on the rise overseas.

Aaron Hernandez, who had lip fillers and buccal (cheek) fat removal in Los Angeles, told the BBC, “I decided to get procedures done during quarantine because it allowed me to heal at my own pace.”

He said that getting his lips done was not something that all men tended to do, so some people might find it different.

“Therefore, I preferred to stay home and recover fully and have people not know what work I had done once I’m out.”

Safety Remains a Concern

But how safe is it, really, to have cosmetic procedures done during a major global health crisis?

The Citizen spoke to LightSculpt Aesthetic Clinic, which has facilities around the country, about the situation in South Africa.

Providing clarity on whether it is safe to get cosmetic surgery during a global pandemic, the clinic’s Group Managing Director, Allan White, cautioned against the more invasive procedures such as facelifts and tummy tucks.

Allan White: Managing Director of LightSculpt Aesthetic Clinic.

“In the current pandemic, patients should be careful undergoing surgical cosmetic treatments which potentially exposes them to a hospital environment and hospital staff who may have been in contact with patients who are Covid-19 positive.”

He did, however, point out that it would be far safer to explore minimally invasive or non-invasive cosmetic procedures as these are done in a private clinic environment where strict Covid-19 protocols are in place.

“The lack of downtime, a decrease in procedural time and exposure to a single clinician are far more advantageous in the current health climate,” said White.

Meanwhile, surgeons overseas are enjoying the demand for surgery and Dr Rod J Rohrich, a cosmetic surgeon based in Texas, USA, confirmed seeing such a massive increase in patients under the global virus lockdown that he could stay open six days a week if he wished.

“It’s pretty amazing,” he told the BBC, adding how now that many people are working from home, they don’t have to filter in recovery and time away from work.

Different Approach in SA

Despite South Africa’s rather sizeable cosmetic surgery clientele that includes a number of celebrities, the cosmetic profession has decided to evaluate whether procedures are necessary under our own lockdown measures.

White said surgeons have to use their ethical discretion to decide if the procedure is deemed to be urgent, semi-urgent or elective in nature, and based on this decision they can decide if a patient requires surgery or not.

A typical room at Lighsculpt offers a more private approach than larger medical facilities.

“Some of the bigger private hospitals have limited the number of elective procedures carried out in order to ensure that there are sufficient beds and staff available for Covid-19 patients.”

With South Africa just now hitting the vital stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, White said that once we get back semblance of normalcy and lockdown has eased, there is most certainly going to be an increase in procedures.

“However, saying this, it is important for patients to do their research prior to doing a procedure, to ensure that they are receiving a high standard of treatment carried out by an experienced and certified clinician.”

LightSculpt specialises in a wide range of minimally noninvasive medical aesthetic solutions for a wide range of skin, body and health-related concerns.

For more information about cosmetic procedure, you can contact LighSculp at: www.lightsculpt.co.za, 011 616 1436 or email support@lightsculpt.co.za / info@lightsculpt.co.za.

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