Plastic Surgery: Q&A

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Would You Broadcast a Live Cosmetic Surgery Procedure?

A clinic in China had a live web broadcast of a breast augmentation. The clinic director said "The live broadcast was an attempt to give the public a deeper, more rational understanding of plastic surgery." The 18 y/o girl was fully consenting, but it has caused a huge controversy. Do you think there is any merit to broadcasting a procedure like this? Would you consider it an effective and appropriate way to educate consumers?

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8 Doctor Answers | Asked by Makenzie in Seattle, WA
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Educational videos for procedures is common.

Filming surgical procedures (elective or necessary) is a common practice in the US. This is typically done for educational reasons. Informed consent from the patient is standard. Videos are a great way of getting people to understand the nature of particular surgeries and what they entail.
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Breast enlargement, augmentation,implants live surgery

I have filmed many cosmetic procedures that I perform and they are available for viewing with full narration on my website. I also provide(and sell on Amazon) videos that I have produced on the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures. I invite everyone to watch and become educated about them. I find it helpful for my patients to watch my videos because it gives them a clear understanding of what to expect. I also show photos of them for many months following their surgeries. more
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Broadcasting is advertising not informing

An elective procedure like this can be recorded and edited to present what is most essential to the public with optimal comments. I really don't see what the live component adds for the general public. A young man broke his neck in Germany while performing in a live show. It is probably a hit on youtube. Is that what we want? What if something goes wrong? We know that that is very rare, but misunderstandings can arrise easily. For professionals however live broadcasting can be very... more
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Broadcasting surgery

Surgery is broadcasted in the US under strict guidelines with full disclosure to the patient and of course with  their full consent.  Usually this is done for educational purposes.
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Live Surgery Broadcast, Breast contouring, #BreastAugmentation, #Breastlift, #mastopexy, #breastimplants

Thank you for your Question. As long as the state regulations and patient privacy were followed- A live surgery broadcast is not unreasonable.  Medical procedures have been broadcast many times. With Warm Regards, Trevor M Born MD
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Broadcasting surgery procedure can be a valid educational tool

I first have to point out that the world's first live plastic surgery webcast was 13 years ago (by me) so the Chinese broadcast isn't particularly new. The reason I did it was to try and establish a format for the medium as an educational tool, with protection of the patient's privacy.
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Broadcasting a Cosmetic Procedure

A few years ago this would have been unheard of. The controversy you mentioned shows that we have not arrived at a time when this is totally accepted. However, informational distribution is constantly changing. Even on TV, NOVA presently shows many surgical procedures. There are several problems in doing this. First, there is patient confidentiality. The older the patient to consent, the less this is a problem. Secondly is proper representation of the procedure so it represents an average... more
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Would You Broadcast a Cosmetic Procedure?

In the US the medical/legal issues would most likely preclude doing a broadcast. In the late 1990's I was filmed by a local T.V. station a breast aug with after in studio interviews. I contacted the Board of Medicine and had the chairman present in studio to cover any issues. Still very difficult to arrange. 
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These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.

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