Investigates

Investigates: ‘Zoom Boom’: Surgeons report 30% rise in patients getting cosmetic procedures since the pandemic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Plastic surgeons are seeing a “Zoom boom” in their business, caused by an increase in people seeing themselves on camera.

Lavisha Hillery wanted a change. She decided it was time to get cosmetic work done.

“I was trying on clothes. I had tags in the closet that I never tried on because I didn’t like the way they looked,” Lavisha Hillery said.

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She went to Ageless Rejuvenation Center in Mandarin and learned about a new procedure that has become especially popular -- fun sculpting.

Doctors Megan Deacon-Casey and Carol Bowen-Wells call it liposuction reimagined.

“It’s known as high-definition liposuction or liposuction 360, is a procedure where you remove excess fat from several locations,” Bowen-Wells said.

Deacon-Casey added, “‘Oh, this is fun, this is easy,’ so that’s where the name developed. You can do the procedure, you get up off the table, you walk out.”

That’s appealing to a lot of patients like Hillery -- a quick recovery time of just days, and no need for general anesthesia.

“The patient can talk to us, we can show them the images, they can see the fat we have removed,” Bowen-Wells said. “When we’re doing augmentation like the Brazilian butt lift, they can tell us, yes, this is as big as we want to go, or you can go bigger.”

The two doctors say their practice is the only one in Jacksonville that offers fun sculpting. It takes just two or three hours depending on which areas the patient wants targeted.

“We’re doing it in a safe environment using the same materials that we pull out of you, we’re injecting it right away, so you get to see the results immediately,” Deacon-Casey explained.

Hillery wanted to enhance her hourglass figure. The procedure took fat from her waist and put it in her hips. She says the results were instant.

“It was gratifying. I was very excited, I was very happy,” Hillery said. “It made my self-esteem go through the roof.”

While Hillery says the pandemic didn’t play a role in her fun sculpting procedure, Deacon-Casey and Bowen-Wells say it’s a factor for other patients.

“Lots of video conferencing such as Zoom, patients are seeing themselves a lot more on camera,” Deacon-Casey said.

Many patients are using their masks to hide other procedures while they heal.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists Botox as the most popular minimally-invasive cosmetic procedure, along with fillers, chemical peels, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion.

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As for Hillery, enhancing her body was an act of self love.

“It’s a personal choice. We all have our own personal decisions we want for ourselves,” she said, adding, “no regrets.”

To her, self love is invaluable.