Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Does Reality TV Influence Plastic Surgery

The big question asked by many is whether reality TV shows on plastic surgery are influencing people to have cosmetic procedures done? Are these shows the only influence on peoples decision?

In the last seven years there have been five reality shows that follow the lives of the doctors and clients undergoing some form of invasive surgery. They include Extreme Makeover, Bridal Plasty, Dr. 90210, MTV - I Want a Famous Face and lastly an American channel Bravo had one called Miami Slice. These shows were broadcast all over the world. The academic journal for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery have said that four out of five people who seek plastic surgery now have in some way been influenced by these shows. Especially those people who were unsure whether plastic surgery was the route to take.

To get a better understanding of the state of plastic surgery have a look at these facts:

• 17 million people undergo plastic surgery every year around the world.
• The top 5 countries doing procedures are America, Brazil, China, India and Mexico.
• Just 10% of surgeries are done on men, versus 90% done on women.
• The numbers of cosmetic surgeries are increasing each year as more and more people are seeking to perfect their bodies.


Miami is the number one city in the world for surgeries. Living in a city where perfection and beauty is key must surely have a huge impact in people's decisions to want to do surgery. If many people around you are having plastic surgeries, it gives you the opportunity to talk to people who have done it and see the benefits up front, which all in all makes it a lot more tempting.

Let's not forget about the influence that celebrities have on our decision to get plastic surgery. The media portrays these body parts to be the most beautiful:

• Angelina Jolie's pout is the most sought after lips in the world.
• Jennifer Lopez famous buttocks had other women jealous.
• Despite Tina Turner being 70 she still has the best legs that many women are after.

These are the type of parts that women seek to have, they are now just given the opportunity to have them.

Make over reality shows may play a role in the change in attitude, in other countries where cosmetic surgeries were not as popular. These shows have a huge fan base and loyal TV viewers. Most of the viewers have probably never thought of having breast lift surgery before, but now the idea of it seems easy and may consider having surgery in the future. These shows I have found do skew certain things, especially with regards to patients thinking they can come in and get whatever surgery they want. This is definitely not true; a plastic surgeon will have to determine whether a procedure is right for the patient first.

People in general are influenced in different ways. The most important thing to remember through all this is that it needs to be your personal decision that is done for the right reasons, not because everyone is doing it and not because it is the easy way out.