I’ve been interviewed by many different media outlets, on many different media procedures. I’ve spoken with reporters from Extra to Entertainment tonight, and all the media attention has given me the opportunity to really think about how a cosmetic surgeon should interact with the media.

Because, let’s face it; the media drives a lot of our notions of beauty. We’re bombarded with pictures of perfect-looking men and women. And I’ve heard a lot of accusations, that the media can be a tool for exploitation and hype. Every day there’s a new miracle cure, or device. So what can I do, as a doctor, to make sure the media gets the right story?

My philosophy for media interviews is to try and get as much information to the public as I can, in the most concise form, as to what their options are. There’s a lot of media distortion out there, that’s true. I feel that my job as a cosmetic surgeon is to give the clearest and most detailed explanation of a new device or technique that I can. And when I do this correctly, I feel like the media is a really useful tool for patient education.

I do believe that media coverage of cosmetics can be a good thing. Let me give an example: I’ve had patients come to me after receiving a Vaser Hi-Def procedure from a different doctor, and the patients weren’t happy with the results at all. The doctors had said that they were familiar with the procedure, when they clearly were not. And it seems to me that these doctors weren’t deceiving the patients so much as they were deceiving themselves, by thinking they already knew what was, actually a cutting-edge procedure.

In this case, the patient suffers from a sub-standard result because of the doctor’s unfamiliarity with a new procedure. The patient, as well, was unfamiliar with the range of the doctor’s expertise in dealing with new procedures. A timely news story on the Hi-Def procedure could have prevented such an occurrence, by educating the doctors on what Hi-Def really is, and educating the patients as to what to expect from a Vaser-trained doctor.

That’s why I do believe in the power of media to inform the prospective patient, creating a safer environment for a more knowledgeable cosmetic consumer. And, in my experience as a cosmetic surgery expert for numerous media outlets, that’s why I also believe that the cosmetic surgeon has a key role to play in informing the patient through the media.

Wishing you good health,
Dr. John A. Millard