Festive season lets nip-tuck patients 'hide out and heal'

Festive season lets nip-tuck patients 'hide out and heal'

The festive season might seem like the worst time year to have a face lift or a tummy tuck, but cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists say that December is their busiest time of year.

Some are performing three times as many procedures over the Christmas period than they would normally do to keep up with demand for the “New Year nip-tuck”.

Industry insiders say increased demand for cosmetic surgery in December is due to the holiday period, which gives patients a chance to recover and for any scars or redness to fade.

Debra Jaliman, a New York dermatologist, says she was carrying out 15 skin-smoothing Fraxel laser procedures a week. She usually treats just five patients each week at any other time of the year. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, she said, “People like to hide out while they heal.”

Plastic surgeon Dr Franklin Rose, who is based in Houston, Texas, also saw a spike in the number of patients wanting face lifts in December. He told the newspaper that he performed up to 20 facelifts a week, twice as many as he usually does.

Bariatric surgeon Dr Michael H Wood, of the Detroit Medical Center's Harper University Hospital, carried out 10% more gastric band and bypass procedures than normal. He added, "Patients do want to fly under the radar and they can do that during the holidays."