Cosmetic surgery and the secret world of Instagram dolls
How we shop for surgeons now
Sx pages can be an effective patient empowerment tool if done honestly and fairly, said Alan Matarasso, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York and the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
“It makes sense because this is a small group of people,” he said. “Not a lot of doctors do Brazilian butt lifts, but patients need to realize that they are not rating a restaurant.”
Dr. Matarasso encourages prospective patients who rely on Sx pages to research and prepare in other ways as well.
“The standards have to be even greater than if you had a sick gallbladder, because you don’t have to do this,” he said. “This is not like vetting a hotel room. You have to be careful.”
Dr. Matarasso recommends that prospective patients ask to see the surgeon’s best and worst results, or a random case – say, the 37th case they did that year. He suggests that prospective clients visit the American Board of Plastic Surgery websites to do research and that patients query the licensing state and find out what, if any, violations a surgeon may have had. Patients can ask board-certified surgeons their specialty and whether they are certified in it.
Ms. Hall, the massage therapist, warned that patients may see women who heal faster or achieve different results than they might. As is often the case on Instagram, people tend to post fewer of their struggles and more of their highlight reels.
Patients taking care of patients
Sx pages might be even more valuable for patients who plan to travel internationally for their surgery. Many people in the United States do this to save money. Doll pages serve to warn prospective patients about problems that surgeons and hospitals don’t disclose.
After surgery, especially if extensive travel is needed, patients may recuperate at recovery houses for a few days. Procedures like fat transfer to the buttocks leave patients unable to move around or sit; doctors may install drains to help remove fluid after surgery.
In a recovery house, a caretaker can tend to their incisions; help with bathing, food, and pain medications; and even perform regular postoperative massages.
In May, the mother of an Instagram model named Yatnaa Rivera died during a procedure in the Dominican Republic. Ms. Rivera took to Instagram to ask for help and to warn others. The doctor who performed the operation, Hector Cabral, MD, had been fined for operating in the United States without a license. He is linked to several deaths and is still practicing. (Dr. Cabral did not respond to inquiries via social media; his office answered calls but said he was on vacation.)
Instagram accounts tagged into his doll hashtag (#CabralDoll) to spread the message.
Every day women are bombarded with images of beauty. With filters and editing apps, and the army of social media influencers who receive money or free cosmetic services in exchange for their Instagram posts, it’s often hard to know what’s real. Authentic depictions of what cosmetic surgery entails can be a reality check on what is attainable with cosmetic surgery.
In May 2019, the American College of Surgeons released voluntary ethical guidelines for social media by surgeons. Many of them address patient privacy, but they also advise practitioners to provide trustworthy medical advice and to be cautious around these “powerful educational tools.” Even so, now a real-time, crowdsourced system allows patients to cut through the surgeons’ marketing and advertising efforts.
Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
