Surgical star
Dr Terry Dubrow talks us through specialised surgery, his life as a TV doctor and more in season 4 of Botched.
Plastic surgeries don’t always go according to plan. That’s when the team from reality show Botched (2014- current) are called in. We chatted to Dr Terry Dubrow fresh out of surgery at his LA office and it looks like the new season of repairing botched procedures is going to a whole new level. “Some of the stuff we work on is ridiculous,” says the 59-year-old. “There are some very sad stories out there. We treat a woman who did a DIY surgery and she’s injected plumbing supplies and tyre sealant into her face as a filler. Some take months of research before we do the surgery.”
What’s new in season 4? In the first three seasons, we focused on the surgeries. This time, there’s a lot more attention to the patients’ stories. Yes, you’re still going to see the surgeries and graphic imagery, but the life stories come first. You’re 43 episodes in – did you plan on having a TV career? Not really – I don’t have a face for television. [Laughs] This isn’t my first time on TV – I was on [reality show] Swan in 2004, as well as Bridalplasty (2010-2011). Do all of the TV docs hang around when you’re done filming? [Laughs] We mostly know each other from conventions and medical workshops. I don’t hang out with doctors on a social level – I have a private life and it’s important to have a clear distinction. I do actually know Doctors Drew and Oz (Dr Drew On Call, 2011-2016; and The Dr Oz Show, 2009-current) but when we’re together, we don’t talk about work at all. Have you ever had to ask another doctor to help with a tricky surgery? I’m not blowing my own horn here, but no. The kind of surgeries that I specialise in, pretty much no one else does. That makes me the expert. Is there any surgery that you don’t do? Definitely – I don’t touch noses. My partner Dr Paul Nassif is the nasal specialist while I focus on abdominal and breast-related surgeries. You’re also the show’s exec producer… Yes and it’s given me a lot of ideas for other shows, like Botched By Nature (2016-current). But at the same time, I’m allowed to get on with the doctor work while our television team do their job – and they do it well.