Is the world really ready for “all plastic surgery, all the time”? Can a breast augmentation or labiaplasty compete with CSI or American Idol or even Dr. 90210? The creators of the new Plastic Surgery Channel sure hope it can at least win a nice little niche for itself.
To be honest, The Plastic Surgery Channel is not a TV network in the ordinary sense. It’s a channel that right now can only be viewed on the Internet–not via your local cable provider or DirecTV. Still, since more and more people are watching TV on their computers, an online network is still TV.
The Plastic Surgery Channel has been around for about a year now, although it’s only now beginning to get a real following. The founder of the network and its president is Craig Thompson. Thompson promises it will be both informative and glitzy. Ultimately, though, he says he wants it to be a resource that will help people make important decisions about cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
The concept is similar to the Weight Loss Surgery Channel, for which Craig’s wife is a producer. The couple says both channels use only board-certified plastic surgeons on their programs.
There is the potential for good and bad with a plastic surgery network. So far, the network has tended toward the good: Its shows have focused mostly on questions that people considering surgery have, and attempts to answer those questions honestly.
The potential for bad is that, in a bid for ratings, the network could go the route of shows such as DR. 90210. That is, they could focus more on the sensational and glamorous aspects of plastic surgery rather than on helping potential patients make important choices. That show seems to divide its episodes up into two main subjects: the first is showing the personal lives of the doctors involved; and the second seems to be showing the blood, guts and gore involved in surgery. Little helpful information is actually provided.
It’s always a positive thing when new avenues are opened to inform people about what is involved in their face lift or breast augmentation–as long as the information is the star and not the glitz or gore. Time will tell which path The Plastic Surgery Channel takes.
