Embarrassing Bodies- The View of the Surgeon

17th May 2012

 

I recently appeared on Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies when I was involved in the treatment of a patient who required an abdominoplasty and a mons reduction following pregnancy induced changes. It was an incredibly interesting process and one that I enjoyed. Overall I felt that the patient was treated very well and was given the appropriate support and dignity but also ensuring that the episode was informative for viewers. 

I became involved because the McIndoe Surgical Centre where I practice has had previous patients involved in the series. I was asked to take part because I have a particular interest in abdominoplasty. 

The whole process was quite an eye opener for me because of the attention to detail and logistics involved with ensuring that not only did the patient receive appropriate and timely care, but that filming happened in an environment that was no different from any other patient. This meant that all the patient’s care happened in consulting rooms at The McIndoe Surgical Centre along with the surgery. Sadly this meant I didn’t get to meet Dr Pixie, Dr Christian or their colleagues but it meant that I didn’t have to travel.

The consultation process was not as straight forward as it normally is because we had to film the consultation from several different angles and often had to repeat parts of the consultation so that it could be filmed from another perspective. It can be very hard to remain natural and spontaneous when you have done something for the 3rd or 4th time. It is also very difficult to make sure that you are focusing on the patient as much as possible when you have a camera right next to you. However, I had had a brief conversation with the patient beforehand and we knew that if things became difficult or that she could not take in anything that I was talking about, we would stop and go over things without the cameras. 

The filming also made me focus on making sure that I spoke clearly and used straight forward language that could be understood by a wider audience. It also made me think about any particular message I wanted to put across. 

This is particularly important as often you are filmed for a very long time but only a short amount of filming will be eventually put on the screen. In such a situation, if a surgeon wants to get a particular point across, it is important that he covers this at several points throughout the consultation and uses short sentences that can be easily edited to allow them to be screened.

At the end of the whole process, I felt that the patient had received good care, had been supported by both myself and the television company and was able to contribute to the further education of the audience. I learnt that you have to focus on the patient and avoid looking or thinking about the cameras that are in the consulting room and in theatres. I also learnt that you need to set aside quite a long period of time for filming and not to expect much screen time. 

This show reaches a very large number of people and therefore is one of the best ways to educate the public. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I would be happy to do it again. I would recommend it to other surgeons, as long as they know to take time, focus on the patient and be clear in what they are trying to achieve.

Baljit Dheansa
BAPRAS Full Member

 

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