Research, Not Hype, Required for Plastic Surgery Decisions
In the world of marketing, few ideas have more power than The Next Big Thing. With each new device, technique, and product that is released to the market, the popular media explodes in a flurry of activity, pushing out news of the latest breakthrough to the hungry masses.
But how much of what we read, see, and hear about plastic surgery is real news, and how much is just marketing hype?
The problem of marketing spin being presented as legitimate news in not new, nor is it confined to the plastic surgery field. After all, that’s what good public relations is all about. And savvy journalists know this, and have learned to do the “due diligence” necessary for accurate reporting.
But today, the line between hard news and hard sell is less clear. The 24/7 nature of modern media demands a constant stream of content, and some reporters have become adept at packaging promotional material as pure news – and that’s risky, because patients today look to the television media for information more than ever before.
For example, a local newscast in Dallas, Texas, recently featured a doctor performing a procedure to transfer fat taken from the stomach area to increase the size of the breasts. At no point, however, did the reporter mention that the doctor was not a board certified plastic surgeon, and the patient interviewed for the story was only three-weeks out from her surgery—not enough time to determine whether the procedure would have a lasting effect.
In short, although television news reports can be an excellent source of information about certain procedures, always be sure to do your homework. And if you’re considering an invasive plastic surgery procedure, make sure your doctor is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
