Brides Compete on New Reality TV Show for Cosmetic Surgery
It may be drawing a fair-sized audience, but a new reality TV show that debuted on E! is also drawing criticism from cosmetic surgeons. Called Bridalplasty, the show pits 12 brides against each other in competitions to win cosmetic surgery procedures. Tapping into a bride’s desire to look stunning on her wedding day, the show began with each bride assessing her body and creating a cosmetic surgery wish list. Each week the brides engage in wedding-related competitions, the winner earning a free cosmetic surgery procedure. The ultimate winner receives all of the cosmetic surgery procedures on her wish list and E! foots the bill for her dream wedding.
Billed as a Cinderella experience, cosmetic surgeons are concerned that on-camera excitement and competitive pressure from other contestants and the show’s producers may encourage contestants to seek cosmetic procedures they neither need nor want. While some members of the medical community believe the show could spark more open discussion of a subject that many consider extremely private, board-certified plastic surgeons fear that the program will trivialize the importance of patient-surgeon consultation.
Women and men seeking cosmetic surgery often arrive at the plastic surgeon’s office asking for one or two specific surgeries. Experienced cosmetic surgeons make a point of carefully discussing with the patient’s her body image goals, examining the condition and elasticity of the patient’s skin and assessing the patient’s general health and suitability for surgery. Often plastic surgeons find that the patient’s goals can best be met not by the requested procedure but by a combination of procedures or a completely different procedure. Outside the competitive environment of reality television, cosmetic surgery patients are not railroaded into plastic surgery procedures. Cleveland cosmetic surgeons take time to explain and discuss each procedure, taking time to answer the patient’s questions and guide the patient toward cosmetic surgery procedures that will actually achieve the patient’s goals.