Estonia experiences post-coronavirus crisis cosmetic surgery boom

Restrictions resulting from the coronavirus and continued working at home have led to an increased interest in plastic surgery both abroad and in Estonia.
During the emergency situation, from March to May, the majority of clinics were closed, but some clinics continued to provide consultations by telephone and online.
According to Peica Pree, CEO and surgeon of a clinic, beauty clinics have seen an increased interest from customers: "After the reopening, we have at least a significant increase in interest in our clinic."
Pree said this is similar to the situation in the USA, where many clinics are now fully booked until the end of the year.
"There is definitely more interest. Colleagues in an American magazine think that when people worked at home a lot during the quarantine, their picture was on the screen - and many of us don't even like to look in the mirror - if you have to look at your face on the screen for eight hours and a colleague looks better on the screen, it will stand out more," she said.
As working from home is still common, this train of thought is likely to continue, she said. Working from home also gives people time to recover from surgery.
Pree noted that despite the increased interest, the clinic is currently on a regular summer collective holiday. This is because Estonians do not want to go under the knife in the middle of summer and prefer to schedule operations in the autumn.
Those interested in cosmetic surgery have money, but no time
According to plastic surgeon at the MM-clinic Mare Malva, the number of people interested in surgery has not decreased, but there are also people who have lost their income and postponed surgeries.
She confirmed that working from home has encourage people to come for an operation.
"It was supposed to be quite a big trend. People seem to have the money, but there is no time. So, while working from home, many have been able to come right now because they have been able to be at home [to rest afterwards]," she added.
Malva sais the most popular surgeries are eyelid correction and breast surgeries.
"People are looking forward to autumn. They are currently making consultations and booking time for autumn," she said. Malva also confirmed that summer surgeries are avoided because swimming is not allowed after many procedures.
Anete Advelk, marketing manager of Medemis skin clinic, said the clinic reopened in May on a smaller scale and with a limited choice of procedures, but the interest of customers was surprisingly high.
"Specialists' schedules were quickly booked up and for a long time," she noted, adding the clinic has had more customers than they did this time last year.
According to Advelk, the clinic is now performing the full range of procedures which sunny weather allows.
The Medemis clinic has also seen an increase in interest after quarantine, but it is not possible to say whether this is due to the ability to recover while working from home.
"There is a noticeable increase in interest, which is shown by a higher number of visitors than in previous years. Since many of our procedures do not require a long recovery time, we cannot say whether this is due to the ability to work from home. In dealing with our customers, we have realized that people want to return to their daily rhythm and take care of their skin," she said.
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Editor: Helen Wright