Demand for butt implants increased 22% during pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON/Nexstar) — There’s a new trend you may, or may not, want to get behind.

According to new data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the demand for buttock implants rose 22% last year, jumping from 970 procedures in 2019 to 1,179 in 2020, with Botox and soft-tissue fillers remaining the most popular overall.

Lower body lifts increased by 3%, while pectoral implants increased by 5% and breast implant removals increased by 8%.

But those stats are a departure from overall findings that cosmetic surgical procedures as a whole decreased by 14%, with the least sought-after surgery being hair transplants, which declined 60% from 2019 to 2020.

Additionally, minimally invasive procedures also decreased overall — by 16% for the same time period.

However, research published in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology revealed hours in front of video calls as people work remotely during the pandemic have led some people to get cosmetic procedures.

A team of dermatologists has coined the phrase “Zoom Dysmorphia,” used to describe people wanting to cosmetically change their features because of how they look on a video call.

The study revealed that 56% of doctors surveyed reported a relative rise in cosmetic consultations despite the pandemic. Also, about 86% of respondents report their patients cited video conferencing as a reason to seek cosmetic care.

According to the study, Zoom Dysmorphia “may be triggered by prolonged staring and self-reflection upon an unknowingly distorted image.”

“We’re spending so much more time in front of the camera or the computer — that potential imperfections that we may think about on a sporadic basis become more of a permanent type of exposure when we’re looking at the camera,” said Dr. Amir Tahernia, a plastic and reconstruction surgeon. “Things that you would normally not even think about as much then become a point of focus.”

Dermatologist A. Shadi Kourosh, a co-creator of the study, said Zoom Dysmorphia is “subconscious.”

“People were spending excessive amounts of time video conferencing and confronting their own reflections in a way that wasn’t natural,” said Kourosh, who works at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology.

She said the image people see through a camera oftentimes is not their true reflection.

“As a physician, especially aesthetic physicians, we have the tools to alter and improve a person’s appearance,” she said. “But those need to be used wisely and in the correct circumstance.”