Short excerpt from a YouTube interview where Robert Whitfield MD discusses his decision to stop performing breast implant placements (hasn't placed an implant in ~4 years) and argues that many plastic surgeons fail to refuse procedures when appropriate. The clip centers on surgical ethics around consent and clinician willingness to say no to patient requests for surgery.
Are you still doing regular breast augmentations as well as explants?
No, I haven't placed an implant in about four years. So I think the other answer to your question is they just don't say no. Like, if you came to me at 18 and said you wanted a breast augmentation, I told you here are the options. I didn't really feel like you understood the options. I would just say no.
Do you think that that is a huge problem, is not enough plastic surgeons are willing to say no. Not even just breast implants, but any surgery?
Yeah, yeah. If that's your occupation. It's, you know, coming from a cancer background, so it's the opposite. For me, there were most of the time I couldn't say anything, but okay, I'll figure out how to take care of that problem.
