The Plastic Surgery Channel (PSC) has pulled an episode of its “Uncut” series after the sole female plastic surgeon it centered on took to Instagram in response to the video’s message, described by many viewers as “sexist” and “misogynistic.”
The video, titled “Female Plastic Surgeons Talk Empowerment,” aired November 5, 2021.
In it, images pulled from Dr. Catherine Begovic’s Instagram account without her consent appear on screen as female colleague Dr. Ashley Gordon of “Restora” in Austin, TX., tells show host John Hammarley, “I think she’s selling what she thinks people want and, unfortunately, like your looks and your scantily clad outfit is typically inversely proportional with your intelligence and your skill level.”
Dr. Begovic, a board-certified Beverly Hills plastic surgeon with 1.2-million followers on Instagram, told Surgical Times that PSC didn’t inform her of the video before or after its airing.
She became aware of it through colleagues, who found it “deeply sexist and offensive,” and took to Instagram in response, sharing a portion of the video that singled out her alone for criticism.
Dr. Begovic’s response has been viewed 100,000 times and is now accompanied by more than 1,000 comments in her support from patients and fellow female physicians.
Surgical Times reached out to PSC President Dr. William P. Adams Jr, and Drs. Gordon and Burke for comment or clarification but has yet to hear from them despite delaying publication.
In July 2021, the Plastic Surgery Channel aired an episode on breast implant illness (BII) and ongoing research into it by The Aesthetic Society’s Education and Research Foundation (ASERF).
That episode, featuring an all-male panel of plastic surgeons, was a response to Dr. Anthony Youn’s Instagram “Reel” and TikTok video on BII which had been picked up by the New York Post, but included commentary by ASERF Vice President Dr. Bruce W. Van Natta that viewers found “deeply disparaging” and “incredibly dismissive” of women in the BII community.
Dr. William P. Adams Jr., President of the Plastic Surgery Channel, is also president of The Aesthetic Society, though the two organizations are officially unaffiliated.
In an April 2021 Instagram post, Dr. Begovic raised public awareness on breast implant illness, making her the most-followed plastic surgeon on social media to have done so.
Written November 13, 2021. Published January 21, 2022.