Cosmetic Surgery :: Surgeons denounce booby prize

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the not-for-profit organisation established for the advancement of education and practice of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for public benefit, denounced a competition run by Liverpool?s 107.6 Juice FM where the prize awarded was a breast augmentation ? the radio station have just announced the winner is Nadine Pude from Wirral.

To participate, listeners posted online the reasons why they deserved ?enhanced fun bags? and Nadine was deemed worthy by public vote.

According to Adam Searle, former President of the BAAPS;

?The giving of a surgical procedure as a prize is an unbelievable, dangerous and highly unethical practice. The decision to perform any surgical procedure must be based on common sense, case selection, good surgical decision making and patient safety. The offer of a cosmetic surgery procedure as a prize is an awful manifestation of the trivialisation of medical care in general, and aesthetic surgery in particular. Any patient making irreversible decisions in circumstances of hype, excitement and emotion, are putting themselves at very great risk. Any normal patient ? doctor relationship is completely abandoned in any such framework of medical care. This is a practice I unreservedly and utterly condemn.?

According to Kevin Hancock, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS council member based in Liverpool;

?We have dealt with similar issues in the past when warning the public about makeover contests on reality television shows, plastic surgery loyalty card schemes and gift vouchers. Patients need to be considered objectively for a cosmetic procedure, rather than being incentivised into having a treatment they happened to ?win?. In these situations of hype the potential risks of surgery tend to be downplayed, and commercialism reigns. Of even greater concern is the message it sends to people ? that plastic surgery is a commodity, and can be purchased mindlessly.?


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