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Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Podium Presentation: Plastic Surgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Improved Mental Health and Quality of Life

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Introduction/Purpose: Plastic surgery, a largely elective specialty, involves remodeling the body for functional and/or cosmetic purposes. Elective plastic surgery reportedly increases mental and physical health and quality of life by enhancing physical features. Growth in number of procedures was expected in 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed this surge as procedures were deemed non-essential. Considering benefits of elective cosmetic procedures, this research aims to raise awareness of implications plastic surgery and COVID-19 have on mental health, quality of pre- and post-surgical care, and demand for aesthetic surgery in a “new normal” society.

Methods or Case Description: A search was conducted on Google Scholar and National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE/PubMed databases. The following terms were queried:  “plastic surgery,” “aesthetic surgery,” “COVID-19” and “coronavirus” in conjunction with “mental health,” “social media,” and “quality of life”. 

Outcomes: A total of 39 manuscripts were assessed and incorporated into this review. Evidence reports decreased overall surgical procedures performed during the pandemic, due to public health and safety mitigations, limited healthcare workers, and patient fear of the virus. With less procedures, there is opportunity to increase quality of pre- and post-surgical care (e.g., additional infection prevention measures). Safely resuming plastic surgery can improve mental health and quality of life, especially in patients with body dissatisfaction, and can lead to increased comfort with and demand for aesthetic surgery.

Conclusion: Since the initial climb of COVID-19 cases, restrictions on elective procedures have begun to relax, along with public health guidelines. The mental health and quality of life benefits of safely resuming plastic surgery may result in positive and measurable secondary outcomes. A spike in COVID-19 cases may, once again, cause restrictions among elective surgeries to be enforced. 

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the growth in cosmetic plastic surgery procedures
  • Associate cosmetic procedures with their benefits to mental health and quality of life.
  • Understand the hardships the surgical subspecialty has endured during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Learn the benefits of implementing plastic surgery resumption during the COVID-19 pandemic with the associated preventative measures.
  • Explain the risks of proceeding with elective plastic surgery during COVID-19.

    Primary Presenter(s)

  • MG

    Makayla J. Gologram, OMS-II

    Medical Student
    Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
    Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
    Erie, PA, US

    • Author(s)

  • CL

    Christine Lomiguen, MD

    Assistant Professor of Pathology & Medical Education
    Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
    Erie, PA, US

  • JC

    Justin Chin, DO

    Family Medicine Resident
    Lifelong Medical Care
    Richmond, CA, US