The Real Skinny: Liposlim During Lunch?
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Rating
The Real Skinny: Liposlim During Lunch?
Our Review Summary
To be plain and clear: This morning news segment about "lunchtime" liposuction isn’t journalism, it’s publicity for a cosmetic procedure that is being offered by the "source."
- The producers and host make no effort to show EVIDENCE that the procedure is safe and effective.
- The surgeon’s assertion that the effects last for a lifetime is unchallenged by the anchorman and no evidence is given to back up that enthusiastic claim.
- The statement that persistent pockets of body fat are "treatable" only via liposuction or 14 hours per week in the gym–that’s 2 hours a day–is an exaggeration.
- The failure to ask an independent source for an opinion on the benefits and risks of the procedure is bewildering.
- One cost estimate was given but even the promoting surgeon said it varies across the country. By how much? And do some or most insurers cover it?
Viewers should think about what they saw in this piece. As the anchorman himself put it, the patient was a "healthy, gorgeous" young woman who wanted a "little fat pouch" gone. With health insurance premiums ever rising, would you want people in your insurance pool to have this procedure and to have it covered by insurance, thereby inevitably driving up your premiums? It would have been journalistic to explore that question.
The trend continues: If you want several minutes of free publicity for your health care idea, unchallenged by evidence or by any independent analysis, morning TV is your pot of gold.
Criteria
Not Satisfactory
The segment says the procedure costs about $3,000 "per site." But even the promoting surgeon said it varies across the country. Varies by how much? Also: Is this $3,000 per love handle, or $3,000 for the pair? One hip, or both? One belly, two love handles, two hips…we’re looking at the price of a year of tuition plus room and board at a state university.
Finally, there was no discussion of whether these costs were reimbursed by any or most insurers.
Not Satisfactory
None was given. What’s the track record to back up these enthusiastic claims?
Not Satisfactory
The only possible side effects mentioned are very minor and minimized by the doctor. Certainly there are others, including infection, bleeding and more serious damage if the doctor makes an error.
Not Satisfactory
There is none, aside from the apparent self-satisfaction and mutual admiration of the practioner and patient. Also, the surgeon states at the end of the story that the patient will "never have to worry about this [area] again" implying that it’s a permanent solution to this area of fat for her. That is a dubious claim and they don’t present any data to back it up.
Not Satisfactory
By implying small pouches of fat in fit, healthy people require medical intervention, the segment allows the "medicalization" of what is clearly not a medical problem.
Not Satisfactory
The doctor who performed the operation and the patient who elected to get it are the only people interviewed. If you want free advertising for your idea, morning TV shows are a good way to get it – unchallenged by any independent expert.
Not Satisfactory
The story does not seriously engage the alternative treatment, which is to continue to be healthy and fit, spend lunch hours taking a brisk walk and spend the money in a way that stimulates the economy more efficiently.
Not Satisfactory
The story does not say how many plastic surgeons provide this sort of "less invasive" liposuction, or how to locate one.
Not Satisfactory
Though the story bills the surgery as something of a novelty, it does nothing to establish this: how often it is done, how long it has been done, how many plastic surgeons do it, etc.
Not Applicable
There is no evidence this story was triggered by a press release, though it certainly appears to be one.
Total Score: 0 of 9 Satisfactory
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