The Rise of Post-Pandemic Plastic Surgery: A Conversation with Dr. Chiu

Numerous changes have occurred in the world over the past few years. Employers are more willing and able to accommodate remote and hybrid work schedules. Online shopping and delivery services for both goods and services are significantly more widespread. And globally, but especially in the United States of America, people are getting more plastic surgery.

This last point may come as a shock or seem unrelated to these other post-pandemic changes, but research published by the National Library of Medicine proves that there has indeed been a significant rise in cosmetic plastic surgery procedures over the past few years.

A Post-Pandemic Increase in Plastic Surgery

In fact, during a conversation with Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Inc.’s board-certified surgeon, Dr. Gabriel Chiu, and New York-based board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. David Shafer, the New York Post referenced a report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). From the report, they shared that the “overall demand for cosmetic procedures increased by 5 percent in 2023 over the previous year, with requests for minimally invasive work jumping 7 percent.”

Reasons For the Increase

There are a number of reasons for this uptick in the popularity of plastic surgery procedures. The New York Post notes that the “upward trend comes as Americans seek to speedily shed pandemic-induced pudge, with an increasing number vying for GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy to help them along.”

Another likely reason for this development is that most elective surgeries were canceled during the pandemic to stop any inessential spreading of germs and that people are now having the surgeries that were postponed because of social distancing requirements. Dr. D. Nepogodiev, with the National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery, estimated that approximately 28 million aesthetic plastic surgery procedures were canceled worldwide.

Unfortunately, these reasons alone do not explain why plastic surgery interest now is not only rebounding but exceeding pre-pandemic levels. One potential reason for this could be that patients in the post-pandemic have more time at home to recover from a procedure. This additional recovery time is likely the effect of the aforementioned increase in remote work and video conferencing options available to today’s workforce. Another reason is that people in the post-pandemic world see themselves on camera more often—whether this is due to video conferencing or the increased use of apps such as TikTok—and therefore have more opportunity to find aspects of their appearance that they would like to alter or enhance.

A Shift in the Type of Procedures Requested

Interestingly, post-pandemic cosmetic plastic surgery trends have also shown that the type of procedures requested has changed post-pandemic. While speaking to the New York Post and Dr. Chiu, Dr. Shafer said that patients’ aesthetic desires have shifted toward cosmetic procedures that make them appear “athletic and slender.” In contrast, Dr. Shafer says, the popular plastic surgery procedures of the recent past tended towards “over-exaggerated features.” Dr. Chiu emphasized this point by saying, “As plastic surgery practices opened up again [after the lockdowns], requests for a natural-looking but athletic contouring were the norm.” The New York Post aptly describes this influx of similar requests as a desire for a naturally lean-looking “athletic physique like that of a dancer.”

In 2023, the most popular cosmetic procedure for achieving this dancer’s physique was liposuction. Dr. Chiu verified this point by saying, “Liposuction is the backbone of this trend, which is also seen in the fact that for the last couple of years, it has been the most popular surgical procedure of all.” Luckily, as the New York Post reminded readers, liposuction is far from the only cosmetic procedure available to help patients achieve the body they want. In order of popularity in 2023, the five most popular cosmetic procedures were Liposuction; Breast Augmentation; Tummy Tuck, also called an Abdominoplasty; Breast Lift, also called a Mastopexy; and Eyelid Surgery, also called Blepharoplasty.

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Inc.

Though we cannot yet know whether this steady rise in plastic surgery interest will remain over the coming years, readers can rest easy knowing that Dr. Gabriel Chiu of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Inc. has the experience and knowledge necessary to meet your cosmetic surgery needs.