, when there were only three television channels? "And if the president was on, your night was shot"? It isn't just the number of stations that has exploded. The content those stations carry has expanded as well. Maybe it has more to do with where and when I was raised than I give it credit for, but what I recall of plastic surgery in the '80s had more to do with tut-tutting the latest changes to Michael Jackson's nose than any amount of TV coverage. There's a Plastic Surgery Channel, today. In the '90s there was the flap over whether silicone breast implants spelled Armageddon. Today, the proudly-augmented go on Oprah (and shows like it) where we learn that we, too, may be surgically immortalized.Television and reality never have kept much company, least of all on "reality shows." In my experience, reality usually falls into the bland middle-ground between the highs and lows that producers see fit to broadcast. It's true that there have been exciting surgical advances, with greater promise ahead. However informative or even unbiased a media article (or blog post) may be, however, it can't provide the whole story because surgery, whatever its purpose or practitioner, is as dependent on physiology as it is on science. The only way to get the whole story as it applies to you is by getting in a room with a surgeon who can match up where you are with where you want to go. Preparation helps, too: bring along a list of specific questions to ask of your doctor. Listen carefully to and honestly consider his recommendations, especially the ones you did not anticipate. Remember that doctors are people, and if you consult with more than one, you may hear more than one recommendation, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And don't be too insistent upon a particular procedure. As Michigan plastic surgeon, Dr. John Sampson, M.D., explains, "If you ask enough doctors to perform a cosmetic procedure that may be detrimental to you, eventually you will find one who will do it."
