Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Hippocratic Oath Is For Sissies, Anyway


"I definitely think I should have been way more informed. I think that doctors should really walk you through all aspects of it, not just the glamorous side. Doctors, it's like they're selling you cookies or something." - Heidi Montag, in an ABC interview, referencing her 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day. Here's the scary thing ahout her statement: she makes...oh man, I can't believe I am going to write this... a good point. Stay with me. RadarOnline has published emails exchanged between Heidi Montag and Dr. Frank Ryan, the plastic surgeon who performed her procedures. The emails -- which Dr. Ryan often signed "XOXO" -- seem to support Heidi's recent allegation that he pushed her to have more procedures than she should. And on top of that, the dude was clearly asking Heidi to help make him famous. Dr. Ryan died in a car crash a few months ago, so, you know, I'll leave him alone. But the emails are super creepy for three reasons: they make a scary statement about medical ethics; they illuminate a dangerous effect of celebrity culture; and they prove that Heidi Montag actually said something worth listening to. Shudder. Here's a sample of Dr. Ryan's messages to Heidi:

Not sure if you are following me on twitter, but could you mention to your followers that they may want to follow me? My web guy keeps bugging me to get more active in twitter.

(After repeatedly asking her to come to his birthday party) I need the modern-day marilyn monroe to sing happy birthday to me like she did to JFK! :)

Let me know when you want some botox/juvederm.

Can you wear the dr frank ryan eco-spa wear along with a dr frank ryan T that day? They are perfect for lounging or yofa or working out etc. I will bring some with me so you can change into them, if you don't mind.

Now if you don't think Dr. Ryan's emails raise important issues, please consider the fact that I just wrote an entire post about Heidi Montag without saying "robot," "giant boobs" or "jackass." Scary shiz, people. Scary shiz.



1 comment:

  1. Dearest Renee, you are touching upon a pet peeve of mine, possibly the one at the top of a long list...

    I am a snarky, middle-aged chick recovering from breast cancer treatment. Notice I don't say I'm recovering from breast cancer. It's the treatment that did me in. Now, when you are diagnosed with any sort of cancer, you certainly want someone to get it out of your body, if at all possible. But if they succeed, and you survive, it'd be nice to be able to enjoy it. However, cancer treatment is about as subtle as killing mosquitoes with a nuclear bomb, so even if one outlasts the cancer itself, the side effects and long-term effects of treatment may ruin your life. Are there options that are less toxic? Frequently. And why is it that many of us never know that? Because our oncologists and surgeons (which frequently include, by the way, plastic surgeons if we elect to have reconstructive surgery) do NOT inform us honestly about such things. In fact, a lot of them out-and-out deny that these effects are caused by treatment. Sigh...

    Yeah, forget the Hippocratic Oath. "Do No Harm" is pretty meaningless when you're getting slashed, burned and poisoned.

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