Plastic surgery in the media: the concept of the specialty, as reported by the print media in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

Besides the diverse situations in which plastic surgery is performed, the procedure has an aesthetic character associated with societal issues, related to the ideals of beauty and to the search for body perfection. Currently, specific body measurements are increasingly being given importance, and shown by the media as being associated with success at diverse social levels. The objective of this study was to identify the concept of plastic surgery, as reported by the print media in Brazil and available in the virtual environment, by analyzing and describing the type of information that is reported to the general public.

Method:

For the data collection, a systematic search was performed on all news articles published by the print media in Brazil and available in the virtual environment. For the search, the descriptor used was “cirurgia plástica” (“plastic surgery” in English) in Portal Interjornal^®. All news articles containing the term “plastic surgery” published between January 2008 and December 2011 were included in the study. The selected news articles were read and subjected to a previously established protocol.

Result:

A total of 1983 news articles were analyzed. From this total, 1367 (68.94%) were classified as aesthetic related, 423 (21.33%) as being associated with reparative surgery, 47 (2.37%) as aesthetic and reparative, and 146 (7.36%) as undetermined.

Conclusion:

The concept of plastic surgery reported by the media was generally associated with aesthetic surgery. Both the content and the quality of information provided by the media are not enough to adequately clarify to the public the real role of the specialty and the care that should be taken when undergoing any type of surgical procedure.

Keywords:
Plastic surgery; Journalism; Media