Washington (AFP)

Sitting in the consulting room of a chic downtown Washington cosmetic surgery clinic, Hudson Young removes his mask, under the satisfied eye of his surgeon.

Like a growing number of Americans, he decided in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic to resort to surgery to improve his appearance, driven by the increase in video calls and the possibility of recovering from the privacy of his home.

"The first time I saw myself on Zoom, I said to myself + Oh, yuck! +", Admits this follower of Botox injections, passed under the scalpel for the first time in October 2020, with a lifting of the bottom of the face and neck, eyelid surgery and laser resurfacing.

"It's something new to have to look at your face for several hours a day, and there are limits to what you can do with good lighting and good angles", confides this fifties in reconversion in the real estate, while Dr. Michael Somenek examines his barely visible scars with his fingertips.

He is far from the only one to be disappointed by his video reflection.

Virtual consultations have increased 64% for surgeons in the United States since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which lists Botox injections and fillers among the most popular procedures. dermal, breast augmentation and liposuction.

"We have absolutely seen an increase in the number of cosmetic surgery procedures that people are looking to do that are directly related to Zoom," confirms Dr Somenek, who notes an increase of 50 to 60%.

"The most requested procedure is for the upper eyelids or the neck. Because they see on camera it hangs down or looks like a double chin."

- Convalescence and confinement -

"The pandemic in general has given everyone time to take a step back and deal with these things," says Ana Caceres, who took advantage of telecommuting to perform a cosmetic surgery operation she had been considering for a long time.

It was from her parents' house, in the suburbs of Washington, that she recovered after reconstruction and a breast lift in December 2020 to correct tuberous breasts, sources of complexes since adolescence.

"I did not have to take any leave during all this time, I was able to continue working from my bed with my laptop", rejoices this 25-year-old press officer.

"When you live your life, when you go out, it's so easy to push things away," she adds, brandishing with a smile a high cut top bought before the operation, which she now dares to wear.

She doesn't plan to stop there, and plans to have her arms liposucked.

His surgeon, Dr Catherine Hannan, has a series of consultations in her clinic in the heart of the American capital.

The number of its customers has almost doubled since the start of the epidemic.

She says she sees "more frown lines, because (her patients) were so stressed last year."

Besides the aesthetic aspect, she judges, having a part of the face or body redone would also have a psychological impact.

"It's a way for patients to say: + I can't travel, I can't see my family, here is something I can do to feel more confident right now."

© 2021 AFP