Knives out over TV plastic surgery

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Cult TV programmes showing operations and plastic surgery "makeovers" are fuelling an increasing demand for procedures, they warn.

Vulnerable patients, especially young women, are beginning to see plastic surgery as a normal step beyond the beauty salon.

But expert surgeons, many of whom have been approached to take part in the TV programmes and refused, say cosmetic surgery is still invasive and risky and patients should not consider it lightly.

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) president Adam Searle said: "I am appalled at the voyeuristic and pornographic extravaganza of the new series of Cosmetic Surgery Live, and condemn-it utterly. The show does not portray the 'real world' of plastic surgery, and in fact does a disservice to thousands of patients who benefit from cosmetic procedures.

"When it comes to health issues presented on television, public education and safety should come before entertainment."

Channel Five's Cosmetic Surgery Live, fronted by Vanessa Feltz and Danniella Westbrook, last year showed 22-year-old law student Sian Mansell being given silicone calf implants. The latest series, All New Cosmetic Surgery Live, includes genital surgery which former BAAPS president Norman Waterhouse called "extremely dangerous" and "highly unethical".

Mr Searle, who specialises in reconstruction-surgery at the Royal Marsden Hospital for women who have had breast cancer, and carries out breast and stomach procedures in his private practice, said the latest programmes were becoming freak shows.

He said: "It is doing our profession and our patients a disservice. It is becoming an extension of the beauty salon.

"We are accidentally and thoughtlessly tumbling into an epidemic of cosmetic surgery where sensible decision making is swamped by a commercial drive.

"Demand for cosmetic surgery has gone mad and we need to cool down a little."

A Channel Five spokesman said: "All New Cosmetic Surgery Live was devised to educate and inform the viewing public about revolutionary procedures from around the world and by its nature reflects extreme surgery."