Plastic Surgery in the Press

Public Perceptions of Plastic Surgery Practice in Brazil

“…In addition, we demonstrated that mass media was not a determinant of plastic surgeon as a response in both bivariate and multivariate analyses. In fact, the media is poorly informed about the broad scope of plastic surgeons' practice and end up building false expectations and perceptions to the public [5,7,9,22,23]. Hence, the inability to understand the general/ reconstructive role of plastic surgeons is most likely due to the exposure given to aesthetic surgery by pervasive social media and popular "reality television" shows broadcasted worldwide, as highlighted in previous reports [22,23] that showed the increasingly predominant aesthetic side of plastic surgery in mass media in the UK.…”

“…In fact, the media is poorly informed about the broad scope of plastic surgeons' practice and end up building false expectations and perceptions to the public [5,7,9,22,23]. Hence, the inability to understand the general/ reconstructive role of plastic surgeons is most likely due to the exposure given to aesthetic surgery by pervasive social media and popular "reality television" shows broadcasted worldwide, as highlighted in previous reports [22,23] that showed the increasingly predominant aesthetic side of plastic surgery in mass media in the UK. In Brazil, mass media has been very positive about aesthetic surgery, viewing the growth of the industry and cosmetic surgery tourism as an indicator of economic health or national pride [21].…”

“…In Brazil, mass media has been very positive about aesthetic surgery, viewing the growth of the industry and cosmetic surgery tourism as an indicator of economic health or national pride [21]. Thus, our primary hypothesis has been proven to be right and the wide spectrum of plastic surgery practice is not fully recognized and appreciated by the general public, as the general/ reconstructive branch of plastic surgery has been receiving significantly less attention from neither the selective mass media [21][22][23][24] nor from members of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP). During different regional and national plastic surgery meetings headed by SBCP, reconstructive talks or craniofacial, microsurgery, or hand round tables are rarely seen.…”

“…Multiple education pathways (e.g., activity reports by e-mail and local newsletters, publication of plastic surgery articles in popular magazines, journals, social media platforms, and high-quality websites) can be adopted to increase knowledge about the scope of plastic surgery [7,8,11,12]. Efforts should also be made for online/print media and television to transfer real and comprehensive information about the true diversity and nature of plastic surgeons' expertise and contributions to health-care system [21][22][23]. Additionally, plastic surgeons may wish to keep their promotional and educational activities commensurate with those of other overlapping specialties [28].…”

O uso da internet como fonte de informação sobre cirurgia plástica na Bahia, Brasil

“…This differs from the results of a European study emphasizing that media strongly influences the notion that plastic surgery is merely for aesthetic purposes. Among a total of 1,191 articles published in British journals in 2006, 89% use the term plastic surgery synonymously with cosmetic surgery; only 10% describe such procedures as reconstructive 13 . Given the extensive socioeconomic disparity between patients attending the SUS or private health services, the general lack of online research on health information and plastic surgery may be due to difficulty in accessing the In ternet.…”