By Kristen Robinson
Plastic surgeons in Metro Vancouver are seeing a swell of new and repeat clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increased demand may be partially due to people scrutinizing their appearances while spending hours on video conferences.
Working from home is also allowing cosmetic surgery patients to quietly recover without being seen – while the provincial mask mandate means they can hide their faces until it’s time for the big reveal.
“Everything seems to be busier than it was,” plastic surgeon Dr. Benjamin Gelfant told Global News.
“But there’s definitely an increase in the number of facelifts.”
Gelfant, who has practiced in Vancouver for more than three decades, said breast augmentations are also up significantly since he made a gradual return to the office in late May 2020.
Initially, he expected business would be poor if people were scared of visiting hospitals or surgical centres amid the novel coronavirus crisis.
“Surprisingly, the opposite seems to be the case,” Gelfant said.
He’s not sure why he’s busier but noted that while he shut down his practice for three months at the beginning of the pandemic, he gave his own website a “facelift” by rewriting important segments and adding a “whole suite of graphics and visuals.”
Gelfant said a ‘Zoom Boom’ is conjecture but possible given how cameras can distort faces.
“People don’t like the way they look on Zoom apparently,” he said.
Another plastic surgeon who’s been practicing on the Lower Mainland since 1987 said there’s been a surprising strength in the demand for aesthetic plastic surgery during the pandemic.
