Posts Tagged advertising
OC Weekly $3000 Breast Implant Ads – and a Story
Posted by admin in Dr D's Truth on October 11, 2012
As some of you might know I serve as an expert witness for the California Medical Board in cases of suspected negligence and malpractice. Not long ago I testified in a case of a not-so-qualified doctor (my opinion) in a liposuction death. Remember as the medical expert in this case, I reviewed the doctor’s training and experience. It was so weak that he would have failed a hospital credentials committee evaluation for sure. Unfortunately, these cases are confidential and I can’t divulge the name.
What I can divulge is that leafing through the OC Weekly recently I saw an advertisement by the aforementioned doctor offering incredibly inexpensive breast implant and liposuction work. I wonder if his dead former patient found him in these ads. Be careful when you select a surgeon this way.
Really.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2011-03-16 07:30:57.
Over the Top Liposuction Advertising – I-lipo
Posted by admin in Advertising Truth on October 1, 2012
I read an I-lipo advertisement in a trade magazine today. It reads:
i-lipo
the no pain
no surgery
no downtime
no dietingbody shaping solution
As usual for high tech plastic surgery items, this piece appeals to the well-known American philosophy of wanting to do nothing other than show up for an appointment to make up for a complete lack of discipline. As any competent surgeon who performs body contouring surgery knows, liposuction and to a similar extent other effective fat reducing technologies are not a substitute for diet and exercise. Of course that does not make good ad copy. 
This advertisement ironically appeals to the very population that will likely find the results of even a successful fat reduction technology totally unsatisfactory. Anyone expecting to obtain immediate results (also phrased in the ad) without dieting and/or body discipline will be quite disappointed in most cases.
To be frank, I am not even sure i-lipo is effective, but with the standard implied by this ad…even if it were, it wouldn’t be.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Hyped Breast Augmentation Procedures and the Truth
Posted by admin in Advertising Truth on April 26, 2012
A friendly reporter at the OC Register sent me this press release asking for an opinion:
Breast Augmentation surgery continues to reign as the “most desired” plastic surgery procedure year after year, yet, until now, was not without serious drawbacks. Many patients have had to endure significant trade-offs when considering breast augmentation surgery: such as post-operative swelling, bruising, strong pain medications, and long term issues from excessively large implants.
Reads like marketing to me as nothing that is said is all that ground breaking. Doctors are trying to market themselves more effectively. Developing catchy marketing terms can be effective. I steer away from this but that is a matter of style.
Relatively pain free breast implant surgery is very possible when surgeons use proper tissue handling and judgment. This is of course not all that sexy in advertising. I write my blog but don’t advertise anything but quality and the truth.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Reader Laura: Yolo Lipolaser Advertisement
Posted by admin in plastic surgery news, Plastic Surgery Tech Gimmicks on January 4, 2012
Reader Laura’s Comment:
“I just found this ad offering a discount on lipo laser treatment. The Medical Director of the clinic is a Dr. Russell Phillips D.O. It seems that he is not a plastic surgeon or even a dermatologist. The website for the company claims that the procedure is pain free and non-evasive. They claim to have good results but I’m wondering if this really works. The before and after pictures on their website seem to show some small changes. Any chance of this really working? Is it really pain free? What are all of the risks with this?”
Every now and then, it’s fine to cut the line. Skip workouts, diets, and invasive surgery to get the body you’ve always wanted right now. With today’s deal from LipoLaser of Dallas, $99 buys you two non-invasive, fat-reducing LipoLaser procedures, a $598 value.
Source: yollar.com/offer/lipolaser-dallas-3
That is even a more irresponsible ad than we usually see for fat reducing technologies. “Skip workouts and diet?” You’ve gotta be kidding me. This sells right to the American who wants to put in none of the work and get all of the benefits. As we all know, that is not the way the World tends to work.
The doctor’s name is not in the advertisement which is a bad sign. This might be an advertisement from a marketing group that contracts for doctors. You might not even know when you go in who would be treating you.
The Yolo Curve Lipolaser has a flashy name, but there are no studies of which I am aware that prove it works. It supposedly encourages fat cells to shrink through intact skin. It is difficult to know what risks might be attached. Probably the biggest risk is that it wouldn’t work.
When looking at the price point it should occur to the reader that this price is a small fraction of the going rate for anything that works. I have doubts and until studies show this technology works, my usual recommended guidelines will apply:
Ask for the doctor who will treat you on the phone. Get his or her name and check him or her out online before you go.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Related:
FDA Warns 1-800-GET-THIN Company
Posted by admin in Medicine in the News on December 19, 2011
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has taken action against eight California surgical centers and the marketing firm 1-800-GET-THIN LLC, for misleading advertising of the Lap-Band, an FDA-approved device used for weight loss in obese adults. The FDA issued Warning Letters to Bakersfield Surgery Institute Inc.; Beverly Hills Surgery Center; Palmdale Ambulatory Center; Valley Surgical Center; Top Surgeons LLC; Valencia Ambulatory Center LLC; Cosmopolitan Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery; San Diego Ambulatory Center LLC; and to 1-800-GET-THIN because Lap-Band is a restricted medical device that is misbranded as a result of misleading advertising by these groups. In the letters, the FDA warns that billboards and advertising inserts used by recipients of the Warning Letters to promote the Lap-Band procedure fail to provide required risk information, including warnings, precautions, possible side effects and contraindications. The FDA also is concerned that the font size of information related to risks on the advertising inserts is too small to be read by consumers.
Source: fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements
/ucm283455.htm#.TueG3YY1aZY.facebook
We have blogged on 1-800-Get-Thin and Lap-band surgery in general before.
Lap-band surgery like any surgery on the obese has not insignificant risks. The FDA apparently believes that these risks are not appropriately featured in the 1-800-Get-Thin advertising. It is interesting that the FDA has jurisdiction here due to the fact that the Lap-band is a registered medical device.
There was a time in which advertising for procedures was considered inappropriate in medicine. Advertising by its very nature is meant to encourage behavior in such a way as to benefit the advertiser. To expect advertisers to be forthcoming about negatives is probably expecting too much. Then again expecting the FDA not to investigate when there have been deaths associated with Lap-band surgery and 1-800-Get-Thin is probably also expecting too much.
This is amongst the reasons for my usual recommendation that potential surgical patients obtain physician referrals from less biased channels. In my opinion, patients should concentrate on choosing the right surgeon and evaluating him or her and their chosen procedure carefully before proceeding.
What do you really expect from an ad anyway?
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Cosmetic Commercials – A Warning.
Posted by admin in Advertising Truth on December 14, 2011
Source: msnbc.msn.com/id/14638209/site/newsweek
The pictures you see in ads can be deceiving. That which we do not know is what other treatments (besides the new miracle scream <- note sarcasm) the lady might have had. I would predict that she at the very least had a few facial peels in addition.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2006-09-07 10:17:00.
British Watchdog Bans Cosmetic Surgery Ad
Posted by admin in plastic surgery news on December 8, 2011
The advertising watchdog has banned a poster campaign for cosmetic surgery that featured a woman in a skimpy top in posters designed to look like the cover of a glossy women’s magazine, after deciding it trivialized breast augmentation and would be seen by young girls. Spire Healthcare ran the fake magazine cover in a poster campaign in outdoor locations including bus stops. The ad appeared to be for a fictional glossy magazine called Cosmetic, with the masthead across the top of the poster and text below including “same day surgery”, “get more, pay less” and “boob jobs” written in the style of coverlines as if promoting features inside.
Source: guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/07/posters-banned-
Do we have an ASA in the US? The British Advertising Standards Authority got an advertisement pulled in the UK on the basis of the falsehoods they said it indicated. This ad for Spire, a cheap British plastic surgery outfit, was placed on posters where young people could see it.
According to the ASA the poster gave the impression that surgery was risk free and inexpensive. Sounds like an American cosmetic surgery ad.
Chalk one up for the Brits. They do this better than we do.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Inland Empire Magazine – Cosmetic Ads Assessed
Posted by admin in Advertising Truth on August 10, 2011
In the past I have warned about those choosing cosmetic surgery practitioners solely from advertisements. Recently I went out of town to a convention not too far from home (Ontario, Ca.) In the hotel was a copy of Inland Empire magazine (March 2010) in which ten advertisements of doctors/medical groups offering cosmetic medical/surgical services were displayed. I did an informal assessment of these advertisers looking online to validate specialty training when possible.
Here are the survey results of the ten advertisers:
1 Cosmetic Surgeon with no findings under board certification with the American Board of Medical Specialists.
2 Board Certified Plastic Surgeons with American Board of Plastic Surgery certifications.
1 Facial Plastic Surgeon with no findings under board certification with the American Board of Medical Specialists.
3 Medical Groups with no doctor’s name mentioned.
2 Dermatology groups with board certified doctors
1 Herbalist
My point is as a consumer reading through these advertisements, you are far more likely to fall into the hands of a non-plastic surgeon (or one without verifiable specialty board certification) than a “real” plastic surgeon if you just rely upon that which is printed. The larger better-looking ads are frequently of the less trained individuals. Please do your research before you choose to have a procedure with any surgeon. Much of this can be done online as my link below explains.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Related:
Dr D’s “Checking Out your Surgeon Online” Page
Originally posted 2010-04-07 07:30:42.
Sneaky Tiny Belly Ads
Posted by admin in time sensitive on July 8, 2011
Remember the “Tiny Belly” Ads? Apparently they worked. Jezebel posted on the event. It is surprising what people will find worth a click.
I was relieved to find a plastic surgeon was not involved. lol.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Orange Coast Magazine and "Top" Docs Section
Posted by admin in Advertising Truth on January 26, 2011
On a trip to Borders, I looked over Orange Coast magazine. The “Top Docs” section is as usual an “advertorial.” Do people realize for a doctor to be featured in this section he or she needs to pay their advertising rates?
As usual most of the better docs in the OC are not listed. A few of the docs listed are pretty horrible. Be careful if you are actually trying to use this list.
Best Regards,
John Di Saia MD
Originally posted 2009-01-01 17:00:00.
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