The image of plastic surgeons in news media coverage of the silicone breast implant controversy.

Abstract

We analyzed the portrayal of plastic surgeons in the media by using the qualitative method of narrative analysis of newspaper articles available between July 1991 and June 1992 and popular magazine articles available from 1965 through 1992 in the Tampa Bay area. Plastic surgeons were presented as antagonists in the "horror stories" of sick women, as combatants in a medical community divided in its assessment of health risks, and as profit-oriented businesspersons. Patients were fully developed heroines, whereas plastic surgeons were described negatively by their antagonists, which undermines the expertise, good character, and good will that determine credibility for plastic surgeons. Providing the press with stories about their own efforts to help patients might have helped plastic surgeons receive more favorable press and enhance their credibility. More sophisticated handling of underlying values and the problem of communicating safety also might have been helpful.